"Esto bonus miles, tutor bonus, arbiter idem
Integer: ambiguae si quando citabere testis,
Incertaeque rei, Phalaris licet imperet ut sis,
Falsus, et admoto dictet perjuria tauro,
Summum crede nefas animam praeferre pudori,
Et propter vitam vivendi perdere causas[2]."'
He repeated the lines with great force and dignity; then
added, 'And, after this, comes Johnny Home, with his _earth
gaping_, and his _destruction crying_:--Pooh[971]!'
While we were lamenting the number of ruined religious buildings which
we had lately seen, I spoke with peculiar feeling of the miserable
neglect of the chapel belonging to the palace of Holyrood-house, in
which are deposited the remains of many of the Kings of Scotland, and
many of our nobility. I said, it was a disgrace to the country that it
was not repaired: and particularly complained that my friend Douglas,
the representative of a great house and proprietor of a vast estate,
should suffer the sacred spot where his mother lies interred, to be
unroofed, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. Dr.
Johnson, who, I know not how, had formed an opinion on the Hamilton
side, in the Douglas cause, slily answered, 'Sir, Sir, don't be too
severe upon the gentleman; don't accuse him of want of filial piety!
Lady Jane Douglas was not _his_ mother.' He roused my zeal so much that
I took the liberty to tell him he knew nothing of the cause: which I do
most seriously believe was the case[972].
We were now 'in a country of bridles and saddles[973],' and set out
fully equipped. The Duke of Argyle was obliging enough to mount Dr.
Johnson on a stately steed from his grace's stable. My friend was highly
pleased, and Joseph said, 'He now looks like a bishop.'
We dined at the inn at Tarbat, and at night came to Rosedow, the
beautiful seat of Sir James Colquhoun, on the banks of Lochlomond, where
I, and any friends whom I have introduced, have ever been received with
kind and elegant hospitality.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27.
When I went into Dr. Johnson's room this morning, I observed to him how
wonderfully courteous he had been at Inveraray, and said, 'You were
quite a fine gentleman, when with the duchess.' He answered, in good
humour, 'Sir, I look upon myself as a very polite man:' and he was
right, in a proper manly sense of the word[974]. As an immediate proof
of it, let me observe, that he would not send back the Duke of Argyle's
horse without a letter of thanks, which I copied.
'TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ARGYLE.
'MY LORD,
'That kindness which disposed your grace to supply me with the horse,
which I have now returned, will make you pleased to hear that he has
carried me well.
'By my diligence in the little commission with which I was honoured by
the duchess[975], I will endeavour to shew how highly I value the
favours which I have received, and how much I desire to be thought,
'My Lord,
'Your Grace's most obedient,
'And most humble servant,
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Rosedow, Oct. 29, 1773.'
The duke was so attentive to his respectable[976] guest, that on the
same day, he wrote him an answer, which was received at Auchinleck:--
'TO DR. JOHNSON, AUCHINLECK, AYRSHIRE.
'SIR, 'I am glad to hear your journey from this place was not
unpleasant, in regard to your horse. I wish I could have supplied you
with good weather, which I am afraid you felt the want of.
'The Duchess of Argyle desires her compliments to you, and is much
obliged to you for remembering her commission.
'I am, Sir,
'Your most obedient humble servant,
'ARGYLE.'
'Inveraray, Oct. 29, 1773.'
I am happy to insert every memorial of the honour done to my great
friend. Indeed, I was at all times desirous to preserve the letters
which he received from eminent persons, of which, as of all other
papers, he was very negligent; and I once proposed to him, that they
should be committed to my care, as his _Custos Rotulorum_. I wish he had
complied with my request, as by that means many valuable writings might
have been preserved, that are now lost[977].
After breakfast, Dr. Johnson and I were furnished with a boat, and
sailed about upon Lochlomond, and landed on some of the islands which
are interspersed[978]. He was much pleased with the scene, which is so
well known by the accounts of various travellers, that it is unnecessary
for me to attempt any description of it.
I recollect none of his conversation, except that, when talking of
dress, he said, 'Sir, were I to have any thing fine, it should be very
fine. Were I to wear a ring, it should not be a bauble, but a stone of
great value. Were I to wear a laced or embroidered waistcoat, it should
be very rich. I had once a very rich laced waistcoat, which I wore the
first night of my tragedy[979].' Lady Helen Colquhoun being a very
pious woman, the conversation, after dinner, took a religious turn. Her
ladyship defended the presbyterian mode of publick worship; upon which
Dr. Johnson delivered those excellent arguments for a form of prayer
which he has introduced into his _Journey_[980]. I am myself fully
convinced that a form of prayer for publick worship is in general most
decent and edifying. _Solennia verba_ have a kind of prescriptive
sanctity, and make a deeper impression on the mind than extemporaneous
effusions, in which, as we know not what they are to be, we cannot
readily acquiesce. Yet I would allow also of a certain portion of
extempore address, as occasion may require. This is the practice of the
French Protestant churches. And although the office of forming
supplications to the throne of Heaven is, in my mind, too great a trust
to be indiscriminately committed to the discretion of every minister, I
do not mean to deny that sincere devotion may be experienced when
joining in prayer with those who use no Liturgy.
We were favoured with Sir James Colquhoun's coach to convey us in the
evening to Cameron, the seat of Commissary Smollet[981]. Our
satisfaction of finding ourselves again in a comfortable carriage was
very great. We had a pleasing conviction of the commodiousness of
civilization, and heartily laughed at the ravings of those absurd
visionaries who have attempted to persuade us of the superior advantages
of a _state of nature_[982].
Mr. Smollet was a man of considerable learning, with abundance of animal
spirits; so that he was a very good companion for Dr. Johnson, who said
to me, 'We have had more solid talk here than at any place where we
have been.'
I remember Dr. Johnson gave us this evening an able and eloquent
discourse on the _Origin of Evil_[983], and on the consistency of moral
evil with the power and goodness of GOD. He shewed us how it arose from
our free agency, an extinction of which would be a still greater evil
than any we experience. I know not that he said any thing absolutely
new, but he said a great deal wonderfully well; and perceiving us to be
delighted and satisfied, he concluded his harangue with an air of
benevolent triumph over an objection which has distressed many worthy
minds: 'This then is the answer to the question, _Pothen to Kakon_?'
Mrs. Smollet whispered me, that it was the best sermon she had ever
heard. Much do I upbraid myself for having neglected to preserve it.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28.
Mr. Smollet pleased Dr. Johnson, by producing a collection of
newspapers in the time of the Usurpation, from which it appeared that
all sorts of crimes were very frequent during that horrible anarchy. By
the side of the high road to Glasgow, at some distance from his house,
he had erected a pillar to the memory of his ingenious kinsman, Dr.
Smollet; and he consulted Dr. Johnson as to an inscription for it. Lord
Kames, who, though he had a great store of knowledge, with much
ingenuity, and uncommon activity of mind, was no profound scholar, had
it seems recommended an English inscription[984]. Dr. Johnson treated
this with great contempt, saying, 'An English inscription would be a
disgrace to Dr. Smollet[985];' and, in answer to what Lord Kames had
urged, as to the advantage of its being in English, because it would be
generally understood, I observed, that all to whom Dr. Smollet's merit
could be an object of respect and imitation, would understand it as well
in Latin; and that surely it was not meant for the Highland drovers, or
other such people, who pass and repass that way.
We were then shewn a Latin inscription, proposed for this monument. Dr.
Johnson sat down with an ardent and liberal earnestness to revise it,
and greatly improved it by several additions and variations. I
unfortunately did not take a copy of it, as it originally stood; but I
have happily preserved every fragment of what Dr. Johnson wrote:--
Quisquis ades, viator[986],
Vel mente felix, vel studiis cultus,
Immorare paululum memoriae
TOBIAE SMOLLET, M.D.
Viri iis virtutibus
Quas in homine et cive
Et laudes, et imiteris,
Postquam mira--
Se ----
Tali tantoque viro, suo patrueli,
Hanc columnam,
Amoris eheu! inane monumentum,
In ipsis Leviniae ripis,
Quas primis infans vagitibus personuit,
Versiculisque jam fere moriturus illustravit[987],
Ponendam curavit[988].
We had this morning a singular proof of Dr. Johnson's quick and
retentive memory. Hay's translation of _Martial_ was lying in a window.
I said, I thought it was pretty well done, and shewed him a particular
epigram, I think, of ten, but am certain of eight, lines. He read it,
and tossed away the book, saying--'No, it is not pretty well.' As I
persisted in my opinion, he said, 'Why, Sir, the original is
thus,'--(and he repeated it;) 'and this man's translation is thus,'--and
then he repeated that also, exactly, though he had never seen it before,
and read it over only once, and that too, without any intention of
getting it by heart[989].
Here a post-chaise, which I had ordered from Glasgow, came for us, and
we drove on in high spirits. We stopped at Dunbarton, and though the
approach to the castle there is very steep, Dr. Johnson ascended it with
alacrity, and surveyed all that was to be seen. During the whole of our
Tour he shewed uncommon spirit, could not bear to be treated like an old
or infirm man, and was very unwilling to accept of any assistance,
insomuch that, at our landing at Icolmkill, when Sir Allan M'Lean and I
submitted to be carried on men's shoulders from the boat to the shore,
as it could not be brought quite close to land, he sprang into the sea,
and waded vigorously out. On our arrival at the Saracen's Head Inn, at
Glasgow, I was made happy by good accounts from home; and Dr. Johnson,
who had not received a single letter since we left Aberdeen[990], found
here a great many, the perusal of which entertained him much. He enjoyed
in imagination the comforts which we could now command, and seemed to be
in high glee. I remember, he put a leg up on each side of the grate, and
said, with a mock solemnity, by way of soliloquy, but loud enough for me
to hear it, 'Here am I, an ENGLISH man, sitting by a _coal_ fire.'
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29.
The professors[991] of the University being informed of our arrival, Dr.
Stevenson, Dr. Reid[992], and Mr. Anderson breakfasted with us. Mr.
Anderson accompanied us while Dr. Johnson viewed this beautiful city. He
had told me, that one day in London, when Dr. Adam Smith was boasting of
it, he turned to him and said, 'Pray, Sir, have you ever seen
Brentford[993]?' This was surely a strong instance of his impatience,
and spirit of contradiction. I put him in mind of it to-day, while he
expressed his admiration of the elegant buildings, and whispered him,
'Don't you feel some remorse[994]?'
We were received in the college by a number of the professors, who
shewed all due respect to Dr. Johnson; and then we paid a visit to the
principal, Dr. Leechman[995], at his own house, where Dr. Johnson had
the satisfaction of being told that his name had been gratefully
celebrated in one of the parochial congregations in the Highlands, as
the person to whose influence it was chiefly owing that the New
Testament was allowed to be translated into the Erse language. It seems
some political members of the Society in Scotland for propagating
Christian Knowledge had opposed this pious undertaking, as tending to
preserve the distinction between the Highlanders and Lowlanders. Dr.
Johnson wrote a long letter upon the subject to a friend, which being
shewn to them, made them ashamed, and afraid of being publickly exposed;
so they were forced to a compliance. It is now in my possession, and is,
perhaps, one of the best productions of his masterly pen[996].
Professors Reid and Anderson, and the two Messieurs Foulis, the Elzevirs
of Glasgow, dined and drank tea with us at our inn, after which the
professors went away; and I, having a letter to write, left my
fellow-traveller with Messieurs Foulis. Though good and ingenious men,
they had that unsettled speculative mode of conversation which is
offensive to a man regularly taught at an English school and university.
I found that, instead of listening to the dictates of the Sage, they
had teazed him with questions and doubtful disputations. He came in a
flutter to me, and desired I might come back again, for he could not
bear these men. 'O ho! Sir, (said I,) you are flying to me for refuge!'
He never, in any situation, was at a loss for a ready repartee. He
answered, with a quick vivacity, 'It is of two evils choosing the
least.' I was delighted with this flash bursting from the cloud which
hung upon his mind, closed my letter directly, and joined the company.
We supped at Professor Anderson's. The general impression upon my memory
is, that we had not much conversation at Glasgow, where the professors,
like their brethren at Aberdeen[997], did not venture to expose
themselves much to the battery of cannon which they knew might play upon
them[998]. Dr. Johnson, who was fully conscious of his own superior
powers, afterwards praised Principal Robertson for his caution in this
respect[999]. He said to me, 'Robertson, Sir, was in the right.
Robertson is a man of eminence, and the head of a college at Edinburgh.
He had a character to maintain, and did well not to risk its being
lessened.'
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30.
We set out towards Ayrshire. I sent Joseph on to Loudoun, with a
message, that, if the Earl was at home, Dr. Johnson and I would have the
honour to dine with him. Joseph met us on the road, and reported that
the Earl '_jumped for joy,_' and said, 'I shall be very happy to see
them.' We were received with a most pleasing courtesy by his Lordship,
and by the Countess his mother, who, in her ninety-fifth year, had all
her faculties quite unimpaired[1000]. This was a very cheering sight to
Dr. Johnson, who had an extraordinary desire for long life. Her
ladyship was sensible and well-informed, and had seen a great deal of
the world. Her lord had held several high offices, and she was sister to
the great Earl of Stair[1001].
I cannot here refrain from paying a just tribute to the character of
John Earl of Loudoun, who did more service to the county of Ayr in
general, as well as to the individuals in it, than any man we have ever
had. It is painful to think that he met with much ingratitude from
persons both in high and low rank: but such was his temper, such his
knowledge of 'base mankind[1002],' that, as if he had expected no other
return, his mind was never soured, and he retained his good-humour and
benevolence to the last. The tenderness of his heart was proved in
1745-6, when he had an important command in the Highlands, and behaved
with a generous humanity to the unfortunate. I cannot figure a more
honest politician; for, though his interest in our county was great, and
generally successful, he not only did not deceive by fallacious
promises, but was anxious that people should not deceive themselves by
too sanguine expectations. His kind and dutiful attention to his mother
was unremitted. At his house was true hospitality; a plain but a
plentiful table; and every guest, being left at perfect freedom, felt
himself quite easy and happy. While I live, I shall honour the memory of
this amiable man[1003].
At night, we advanced a few miles farther, to the house of Mr. Campbell
of Treesbank, who was married to one of my wife's sisters, and were
entertained very agreeably by a worthy couple.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31.
We reposed here in tranquillity. Dr. Johnson was pleased to find a
numerous and excellent collection of books, which had mostly belonged to
the Reverend Mr. John Campbell, brother of our host. I was desirous to
have procured for my fellow-traveller, to-day, the company of Sir John
Cuninghame, of Caprington, whose castle was but two miles from us. He
was a very distinguished scholar, was long abroad, and during part of
the time lived much with the learned Cuninghame[1004], the opponent of
Bentley as a critick upon Horace. He wrote Latin with great elegance,
and, what is very remarkable, read Homer and Ariosto through every year.
I wrote to him to request he would come to us; but unfortunately he was
prevented by indisposition.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1.
Though Dr. Johnson was lazy, and averse to move, I insisted that he
should go with me, and pay a visit to the Countess of Eglintoune, mother
of the late and present earl. I assured him, he would find himself amply
recompensed for the trouble; and he yielded to my solicitations, though
with some unwillingness. We were well mounted, and had not many miles to
ride. He talked of the attention that is necessary in order to
distribute our charity judiciously. 'If thoughtlessly done, we may
neglect the most deserving objects; and, as every man has but a certain
proportion to give, if it is lavished upon those who first present
themselves, there may be nothing left for such as have a better claim. A
man should first relieve those who are nearly connected with him, by
whatever tie; and then, if he has any thing to spare, may extend his
bounty to a wider circle.[1005]'
As we passed very near the castle of Dundonald, which was one of the
many residences of the kings of Scotland, and in which Robert the Second
lived and died, Dr. Johnson wished to survey it particularly. It stands
on a beautiful rising ground, which is seen at a great distance on
several quarters, and from whence there is an extensive prospect of the
rich district of Cuninghame, the western sea, the isle of Arran, and a
part of the northern coast of Ireland. It has long been unroofed; and,
though of considerable size, we could not, by any power of imagination,
figure it as having been a suitable habitation for majesty[1006]. Dr.
Johnson, to irritate my _old Scottish_[1007] enthusiasm, was very
jocular on the homely accommodation of 'King _Bob_,' and roared and
laughed till the ruins echoed.
Lady Eglintoune, though she was now in her eighty-fifth year, and had
lived in the retirement of the country for almost half a century, was
still a very agreeable woman. She was of the noble house of Kennedy, and
had all the elevation which the consciousness of such birth inspires.
Her figure was majestick, her manners high-bred, her reading extensive,
and her conversation elegant. She had been the admiration of the gay
circles of life, and the patroness of poets[1008]. Dr. Johnson was
delighted with his reception here. Her principles in church and state
were congenial with his. She knew all his merit, and had heard much of
him from her son, Earl Alexander[1009], who loved to cultivate the
acquaintance of men of talents, in every department.
All who knew his lordship, will allow that his understanding and
accomplishments were of no ordinary rate. From the gay habits which he
had early acquired, he spent too much of his time with men, and in
pursuits far beneath such a mind as his. He afterwards became sensible
of it, and turned his thoughts to objects of importance; but was cut off
in the prime of his life. I cannot speak, but with emotions of the most
affectionate regret, of one, in whose company many of my early days were
passed, and to whose kindness I was much indebted.
Often must I have occasion to upbraid myself, that soon after our return
to the main land, I allowed indolence to prevail over me so much, as to
shrink from the labour of continuing my journal with the same minuteness
as before; sheltering myself in the thought, that we had done with the
