He told me that he had twelve or fourteen times attempted to keep a journal of his life, but never could perfevere. He adviféd me to do it. "The great thing to be recorded, (faid he,) is the ftate of your own mind; and you fhould write down every thing that you remember, for you cannot judge at first what is good or bad; and write immediately while the impreffion is fresh, for it will not be the fame a week afterwards."

I again folicited him to communicate to me the particulars of his early life. He faid, "You fhall have them all for two-pence. I hope you fhall know a great deal more of me before you write my Life." He mentioned to me this day many circumstances, which I wrote down when I went home, and have interwoven in the former part of this narrative,

On Tuesday, April 13, he and Dr. Goldsmith and I dined at General Oglethorpe's, Goldsmith expatiated on the common topick, that the race of our people was degenerated, and that this was owing to luxury, JOHNSON. "Sir, in the first place, I doubt the fact. I believe there are as many tall men in England now, as ever there were. But, fecondly, fuppofing the ftature of our people to be diminished, that is not owing to luxury; for, Sir, confider to how very finall a proportion of our people luxury can reach, Our foldiery, furely, are not luxurious, who live on fix-pence a day; and the fame remark will apply to almost all the other claffes. Luxury, fo far as it reaches the poor, will do good to the race of people; it will strengthen and multiply them. Sir, no nation was ever hurt

by

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Ætat. 64.

1773.

Etat. 64.

by luxury; for, as I said before, it can reach but to
I admit that the great increase of
a very few.
commerce and manufactures hurts the military
fpirit of a people; because it produces a compe-
tition for fomething else than martial honours,-a
competition for riches. It also hurts the bodies of
the people; for you will obferve, there is no man
who works at any particular trade, but you may
know him from his appearance to do fo. One
part or other of his body being more used than the
reft, he is in fome degree deformed: but, Sir, that
is not luxury. A tailor fits cross-legged; but that
is not luxury." GOLDSMITH. "Come, you're
just going to the fame place by another road."
JOHNSON. "Nay, Sir, I fay that is not luxury.
Let us take a walk from Charing-crofs to White-
chapel, through, I fuppofe, the greatest series of
fhops in the world, what is there in any of these
fhops, (if you except gin-fhops,) that can do any
human being any harm?" GOLDSMITH.
GOLDSMITH. "Well,
Sir, I'll accept your challenge. The very next
fhop to Northumberland-houfe is a pickle-fhop."
JOHNSON. "Well, Sir: do we not know that a
maid can in one afternoon make pickles fufficient
to serve a whole family for a year? nay, that five
pickle-shops can ferve all the kingdom? Befides,
Sir, there is no harm done to any body by the
making of pickles, or the eating of pickles."

We drank tea with the ladies; and Goldsmith fung Tony Lumpkin's fon in his comedy. "She stoops to conquer," and a very pretty one, to an Irish tunes, which he had defigned for Mifs Hard

3 The humours of Ballamagairy.

castle;

caftle; but as Mrs. Bulkeley, who played the part, could not fing, it was left out. He afterwards wrote it down for me, by which means it was preferved, and now appears amongst his poems. Dr. Johnson, in his way home, ftopt at my lodgings in Piccadilly, and fat with me, drinking tea a fecond time, till a late hour.

I told him that Mrs. Macaulay faid, fhe wondered how he could reconcile his political principles with his moral; his notions of inequality and fubordination with wifhing well to the happinefs of all mankind, who might live fo agreeably, had they all their portions of land, and none to domineer over another. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, I reconcile my principles very well, because mankind are happier in a state of inequality and subordination. Were they to be in this pretty state of equality, they would foon degenerate into brutes;-they would become Monboddo's nation;-their tails would grow. Sir, all would be lofers, were all to work for all-they would have no intellectual improvement. All intellectual improvement arises from leifure: all leisure arises from one working for another."

Talking of the family of Stuart, he faid, "It should seem that the family at present on the throne has now established as good a right as the former family, by the long consent of the people; and that to disturb this right might be confidered as culpable. At the fame time I own, that it is a very difficult queftion, when confidered with refpect to the house of Stuart. To oblige people to take oaths as to the difputed right, is wrong. know not whether I could take them: but I do

I

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Etat. 64

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Etat. 64.

not blame thofe who do." So confcientious and fo delicate was he upon this fubject, which has occafioned fo much clamour against him.

Talking of law cafes, he faid, "The English reports, in general, are very poor: only the half of what has been faid is taken down; and of that half, much is mistaken. Whereas, in Scotland, the arguments on each fide are deliberately put in writing, to be confidered by the Court. I think a collection of your cafes upon fubjects of importance, with the opinions of the Judges upon them, would be valuable."

On Thursday, April 15, I dined with him and Dr. Goldsmith at General Paoli's. We found here Signor Martinelli, of Florence, authour of a Hif tory of England in Italian, printed at London.

I spoke of Allan Ramfay's "Gentle Shepherd," in the Scottish dialect, as the best pastoral that had ever been written; not only abounding with beautiful rural imagery, and just and pleasing sentiments, but being a real picture of manners; and I offered to teach Dr. Johnson to understand it. "No, Sir, (faid he,) I won't learn it. You fhall retain your fuperiority by my not knowing it."

This brought on a question whether one man is leffened by another's acquiring an equal degree of knowledge with him. Johnfon afferted the affirmative. I maintained that the pofition might be true in those kinds of knowledge which produce wisdom, power, and force, fo as to enable one man to have the government of others; but that a man is not in any degree lessened by others knowing as well as he

what

1773.

what ends in mere pleasure :-eating fine fruits, drinking delicious wines, reading exquifite poetry. Etat. 64.

The General obferved, that Martinelli was a Whig. JOHNSON. "I am forry for it. It fhows the spirit of the times: he is obliged to temporife." BOSWELL. "I rather think,,Sir, that Toryifm prevails in this reign." JOHNSON. "I know not why you should think fo, Sir. You fee your friend Lord Lyttelton, a nobleman, is obliged in his History to write the most vulgar Whiggifm."

to tell of almost

An animated debate took place whether Martinelli fhould continue his Hiftory of England to the present day. GOLDSMITH. "To be fure he fhould." JOHNSON. "No, Sir; he would give great offence. He would have all the living great what they do not wish told." GOLDSMITH." It may, perhaps, be neceffary for a native to be more cautious; but a foreigner who comes among us without prejudice, may be confidered as holding the place of a Judge, and may fpeak his mind freely." JOHNSON. "Sir, a foreigner, when he fends a work from the prefs, ought to be on his guard against catching the erfour and mistaken enthufiafm of the people among whom he happens to be." GOLDSMITH." Sir, he wants only to fell his history, and to tell truth; one an honeft, the other a laudable motive." JOHNSON. "Sir, they are both laudable motives. It is laudable in a man to wifh to live by his labours; but he should write fo as he may live by them, not so as he may be knocked on the head. Į would advise him to be at Calais before he publishes