1769. Etat. 60. To JAMES BOSWELL, Efq. "DEAR SIR, "WHY do you charge me with unkindnefs? I have omitted nothing that could do you good, or give you pleasure, unless it be that I have forborne to tell you my opinion of your "Account of Corfica." I believe my opinion, if you think well of my judgement, might have given you pleasure; but when it is confidered how much vanity is excited by praise, I am not sure that it would have done you good. Your Hiftory is like other hiftories, but your Journal is in a very high degree curious and delightful. There is between the hiftory and the journal that difference which there will always be found between notions borrowed from without, and notions generated within. Your hiftory was copied from books; your journal rofe out of your own experience and obfervation. You exprefs images which operated ftrongly upon yourself, and you have impreffed them with great force upon your readers. I know not whether I could name any narrative by which curiosity is better excited, or better gratified. "I am glad that you are going to be married; and as I wish you well in things of lefs importance, dulge the pride of fuperiour genius, when he confiders that by those who know him only as an authour, he never ceases to be refpected. Such an authour, when in his hours of gloom and discontent, may have the confolation to think, that his writings are, at that very time, giving pleasure to numbers; and fuch an authour may cherish the hope of being remembered after death, which has been a great object to the nobleft minds in all ages." wifh you well with proportionate ardour in this, 1769. love you "I do not find that I am likely to come back very foon from this place. I fhall, perhaps, stay a fortnight longer; and a fortnight is a long time to a lover abfent from his miftrefs. Would a fortnight ever have an end? "I am, dear Sir, "Your most affectionate humble fervant, Brighthelmftone, Sept. 9, 1769. After his return to town, we met frequently, and I continued the practice of making notes of his converfation, though not with fo much affiduity as I wish I had done. At this time, indeed, I had a fufficient excufe for not being able to appropriate fo much time to my journal; for General Paoli, after Corfica had been overpowered by the monarchy of France, was now no longer at the head of his brave countrymen, but having with difficulty escaped from his native ifland, had fought an afylum in Great Britain; and it was my duty, as well as my pleasure, to attend much upon him. Such particulars of Johnfon's converfation at this period as I have committed to writing, I fhall here introduce, without any ftrict attention to methodical arrangement. Sometimes fhort notes of different days VOL. I. M m hall 1769. fhall be blended together, and fometimes a day Etat. 60. may feem important enough to be feparately dif tinguished. He faid, he would not have Sunday kept with rigid feverity and gloom, but with a gravity and fimplicity of behaviour. I told him that David Hume had made a short collection of Scotticifms. "I wonder, (said Johnfon,) that he should find them." He would not admit the importance of the queftion concerning the legality of general warrants. "Such a power (he observed,) must be vested in every government, to answer particular cafes of neceffity; and there can be no juft complaint but when it is abused, for which those who administer government must be answerable. It is a matter of fuch indifference, a matter about which the people care fo very little, that were a man to be fent over Britain to offer them an exemption from it at a halfpenny a piece, very few would purchase it." This was a fpecimen of that laxity of talking, which I have heard him fairly acknowledge; for, furely, while the power of granting general warrants was supposed to be legal, and the apprehenfion of them hung over our heads, we did not poffefs that fecurity of freedom, congenial to our happy conftitution, and which, by the intrepid exertions of Mr. Wilkes, has been happily established. He faid, "The duration of Parliament, whether for seven years or the life of the King, appears to me fo immaterial, that I would not give half a crown to turn the scale one way or the other. The babeas corpus corpus is the fingle advantage which our government 1769. has over that of other countries." On the 30th of September we dined together at the Mitre. I attempted to argue for the superior happiness of the favage life, upon the ufual fanciful topicks. JOHNSON. "Sir, there can be nothing more falfe. The favages have no bodily advantages beyond thofe of civilifed men. They have not better health; and as to care or mental uneafinefs, they are not above it, but below it, like bears. No, Sir; you are not to talk fuch paradox let me have no more o'nt. It cannot entertain, far lefs can it inftruct. Lord Monboddo, one of your Scotch Judges, talked a great deal of fuch nonfenfe. I fuffered him; but I will not fuffer you."-BOSWELL. "But, Sir, does not Rouffeau talk fuch nonfenfe?" JOHNSON. "True, Sir; but Rouffeau knows he is talking nonfenfe, and laughs at the world for ftaring at him." Bos. WELL. "How fo, Sir?" JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, a man who talks nonfenfe fo well, muft know that he is talking nonfenfe. But I am afraid, (chuckling and laughing,) Monboddo does not know that he is talking nonfenfe "." BOSWELL. "Is it wrong then, Sir, to affect fingularity, in order to make people ftare?" JOHNSON. Yes, if you 5 His Lordship having frequently spoken in an abufive manner of Dr. Johnfon, in my company, I on one occafion during the life-time of my illuftrious friend could not refrain from retaliation, and repeated to him this faying. He has fince published I dont know how many pages in one of his curious books, attempting, in much anger, but with pitiful effect, to perfuade mankind that my illuftrious friend was not the great and good man which they esteemed and eyer will efteem him to be. M m 2 do Ætat. 60. 1769. Etat. 6. do it by propagating errour: and, indeed, it is wrong in any way. There is in human nature a general inclination to make people ftare; and every wife man has himself to cure of it, and does cure himself. If you wish to make people ftare by doing better than others, why, make them stare till they ftare their eyes out. But confider how eafy it is to make people ftare, by being absurd. I may do it by going into a drawing-room without my fhoes. You remember the gentleman in "The Spectator," who had a commiffion of lunacy taken out against him for his extreme fingularity, fuch as never wearing a wig, but a night-cap. Now, Sir, abstractedly, the night-cap was beft; but, relatively, the advantage was overbalanced by his making the boys run after him.” Talking of a London life, he faid, "The happinefs of London is not to be conceived but by those who have been in it. I will venture to fay, there is more learning and science within the circumference of ten miles from where we now fit, than in all the reft of the kingdom." BOSWELL. "The only difadvantage is the great distance at which people live from one another." JOHNSON. Yes, Sir; but that is occafioned by the largenefs of it, which is the cause of all the other advantages. BOSWELL." Sometimes I have been in the humour of wishing to retire to a defart.” JOHNSON. "Sir, you have defart enough in Scotland." Although I had promised myself a great deal of inftructive converfation with him on the conduct of the married state, of which I had then a near profpect, |