His stay in Scotland was from the 18th of August, on which day he arrived, till the 22nd of November, when he set out on his return to London; and I believe ninety-four days were never passed by any man in a more vigorous exertion. He came by the way of Berwick-upon-Tweed to Edinburgh, where he remained a few days, and then went by St. Andrew's, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Fort Augustus, to the Hebrides, to visit which was the principal object he had in view. He visited the isles of Sky, Rasay, Coll, Mull, Inchkenneth, and Icolmkill. He travelled through Argyleshire by Inverary, and from thence by Lochlomond and Dunbarton to Glasgow, then by Loudon to Auchinleck in Ayrshire, the seat of my family, and then by Hamilton, back to Edinburgh, where he again spent some time. He thus saw the four universities of Scotland, its three principal cities, and as much of the Highland and insular life as was sufficient for his philosophical contemplation. I had the pleasure of accompanying him during the whole of his journey. He was respectfully entertained by the great, the learned, and the elegant, wherever he went; nor was he less delighted with the hospitality which he experienced in humbler life.1 His various adventures, and the force and vivacity of his mind, as exercised during this peregrination, upon innumerable topics, have been faithfully, and to the best of my abilities, displayed in my "Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides," to which, as the public has been pleased to honour it by a very extensive circulation, I beg leave to refer, as to a separate and remarkable portion of his life," which may be there seen in de 1 He was long remembered amongst the lower orders of Hebrideans by the title of the Sassenach More, the big Englishman.-Walter Scott. 2 The author was not a small gainer by this extraordinary journey, for Dr. Johnson thus writes to Mrs. Thrale, Nov. 3, 1773 :—“ Boswell will praise my resolution and perseverance, and I shall in return celebrate his good-humour and perpetual cheerfulness. He has better faculties than I had imagined: more justness of discernment, and more fecundity of images. It is very convenient to travel with him, for there is no house where he is not received with kindness and respect." Thrale Correspondence, vol. i., p. 198.-Malone. tail, and which exhibits as striking a view of his powers in conversation, as his works do of his excellence in writing. Nor can I deny to myself the very flattering gratification of inserting here the character which my friend Mr. Courtenay has been pleased to give of that work: "With Reynolds' pencil, vivid, bold, and true, So fervent Boswell gives him to our view: And Samuel sings, 'The king shall have his ain." During his stay at Edinburgh, after his return from the Hebrides, he was at great pains to obtain information concerning Scotland; and it will appear from his subsequent letters, that he was not less solicitous for intelligence on this subject after his return to London. "DEAR SIR, TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. "Nov. 27, 1773. "I came home last night, without any incommodity, danger, or weariness, and am ready to begin a new journey. I shall go to Oxford on Monday. I know Mrs. Boswell wished me well to go;2 1 The celebrated Flora Macdonald. See Boswell's Tour.-Courtenay. * In this he showed a very acute penetration. My wife paid him the most assiduous and respectful attention while he was our guest; so that I wonder how he discovered her wishing for his departure. The truth is, that his irregular hours and uncouth habits, such as turning the candles with their heads downwards, when they did not burn bright enough, and letting the wax drop upon the carpet, could not but be disagreeable to a her wishes have not been disappointed. Mrs. Williams has received Sir A.'s letter. "Make my compliments to all those to whom my compliments may be welcome. "Let the box be sent as soon as it can, and let me know when to expect it. 3 Enquire, if you can, the order of the Clans: Macdonald is first ;3 Maclean second; further I cannot go. Quicken Dr. Webster. I am, Sir, yours affectionately, "SAM. JOHNSON." MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON. “ 'Edinburgh, Dec. 2, 1773. "You shall have what information I can procure as to the order of the clans. A gentleman of the name of Grant tells me that there is no settled order among them; and he says that the Macdonalds were not placed upon the right of the army at Culloden; the Stuarts were. I shall, however, examine witnesses of every name that I can find here. Dr. Webster shall be quickened too. I like your lady. Besides, she had not that high admiration of him which was felt by most of those who knew him; and, what was very natural to a female mind, she thought he had too much influence over her husband. She once, in a little warmth, made, with more point than justice, this remark upon that subject :-" I have seen many a bear led by a man; but I never before saw a man led by a bear." 1 1 Sir Alexander Gordon, one of the professors at Aberdeen. 2 This was a box containing a number of curious things which he had picked up in Scotland, particularly some horn-spoons. 3 The Macdonalds always laid claim to be placed on the right of the whole clans, and those of that tribe assign the breach of this order at Culloden as one cause of the loss of the day. The Macdonalds, placed on the left wing, refused to charge, and positively left the field unassailed and unbroken. Lord George Murray in vain endeavoured to urge them on by saying, that their behaviour would make the left the right, and that he himself would take the name of Macdonald. On this subject there are some curious notices, in a very interesting journal written by one of the seven men of Moidart, as they were called-Macdonalds of the Clanronald sept, who were the first who declared for the prince at his landing in their chief's country. It is in the Lockhart papers, vol. ii., p. 510.-Walter Scott. The Rev. Dr. Alexander Webster, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, a man of distinguished abilities, who had promised him information concerning the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. little memorandums; they are symptoms of your being in earnest with your book of northern travels. "Your box shall be sent next week by sea. You will find in it some pieces of the broom-bush which you saw growing on the old castle of Auchinleck. The wood has a curious appearance when sawn across. You may either have a little writing-standish made of it, or get it formed into boards for a treatise on witchcraft, by way of a suitable binding." MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON. "Edinburgh, Dec. 18, 1773. You promised me an inscription for a print to be taken from an historical picture of Mary Queen of Scots being forced to resign her crown, which Mr. Hamilton at Rome has painted for me.' The two following have been sent to me : "Maria Scotorum Regina meliori seculo digna, jus regium civibus seditiosis invita resignat.' "Cives seditiosi Mariam Scotorum Reginam sese muneri abdicare invitam cogunt.' "Be so good as to read the passage in Robertson, and see if you cannot give me a better inscription. I must have it both in Latin and English; so, if you should not give me another Latin one, you will at least choose the best of these two, and send a translation of it.” . . . . His humane forgiving disposition was put to a pretty strong test on his return to London, by a liberty which Mr. Thomas Davies had taken with him in his absence, which was, to publish two volumes entitled "Miscellaneous and Fugitive Pieces," which he advertised in the newspapers, " By the Author of the Rambler." In this collection, several of Dr. Johnson's acknowledged writings, several of his anonymous performances, and some which he had written for others, were inserted; but 1 Gavin Hamilton, long a resident in Rome, and a painter of some reputation in his day. He died in 1797. The picture which Boswell speaks of was exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1776, and is described in the catalogue as" No. 124. Gavin Hamilton, Rome; Mary Queen of Scots resigning her Crown.”—P. Cunningham. there were also some in which he had no concern whatever. He was at first very angry, as he had good reason to be. But, upon consideration of his poor friend's narrow circumstances, and that he had only a little profit in view, and meant no harm, he soon relented, and continued his kindness to him as formerly.1 In the course of his self-examination with retrospect to this year, he seems to have been much dejected; for he says, 1st January, 1774: "This year has passed with so little improvement, that I doubt whether I have not rather impaired than increased my learning." And yet we have seen how he read, and we know how he talked, during that period. He was now seriously engaged in writing an account of our travels in the Hebrides, in consequence of which I had the pleasure of a more frequent correspondence with him. "DEAR SIR, TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. "Jan. 29, 1774 "My operations have been hindered by a cough; at least I flatter myself, that if my cough had not come, I should have been further advanced. But I have had no intelligence from Dr. Webster, nor from the excise-office, nor from you. No account of the little borough. Nothing of the Erse language. I have yet heard nothing 1 "When Davies printed the Fugitive Pieces without his knowledge or consent; 'How,' said I, 'would Pope have raved, had he been served so?' 'We should never,' replied Johnson, 'have heard the last on't, to be sure; but then Pope was a narrow man. I will, however,' added he, 'storm and bluster myself a little this time ;'-so went to London in all the wrath he could muster up. At his return, I asked how the affair ended :—' Why,' said he, 'I was a fierce fellow, and pretended to be very angry, and Thomas was a good-natured fellow, and pretended to be very sorry; so there the matter ended. I believe the dog loves me dearly. Mr. Thrale (turning round to my husband), what shall you and I do that is good for Tom Davies? We will do something for him, to be sure.""-Piozzi, Anecdotes, p. 55-6.—Croker. 2 Prayers and Meditations, p. 134. The ancient Burgh of Prestick, in Ayrshire. |