parison, yet he would frequently gratify himself in private with the participation of the rich intellectual entertainment which Johnson could furnish. Strange, however, is it, to consider how few of the great sought his society; so that if one were disposed to take occasion for satire on that account, very conspicuous objects present themselves. His noble friend, Lord Elibank, well observed, that if a great man procured an interview with Johnson, and did not wish to see him more, it showed a mere idle curiosity, and a wretched want of relish for extraordinary powers of mind. Mrs. Thrale justly and wittily accounted for such conduct by saying, that Johnson's conversation was by much too strong for a person accustomed to obsequiousness and flattery; it was mustard in a young child's mouth!

'One day, when I told him that I was a zealous tory, but not enough "according to knowledge,” and should be obliged to him for "a reason," he was so candid, and expressed himself so well, that I begged of him to repeat what he had said, and I wrote down as follows:

OF TORY AND WHIG.

"A wise tory and a wise whig, I believe, will agree. Their principles are the same, though their modes of thinking are different. A high tory makes government unintelligible; it is lost in the clouds. A violent whig makes it impracticable: he is for allowing so much liberty to every man, that there is not power enough to govern any man. The prejudice of the tory is for establishment, the prejudice of the whig is for innovation. A tory does not wish to give more real power to government; but that government should have more reverence. Then they differ as to the church. The tory is not for giving more legal power to the clergy, but wishes they should

have a considerable influence, founded on the opinion of mankind: the whig is for limiting and watching them with a narrow jealousy."

"TO MR. PERKINS.

"2d June, 1781.

"SIR, However often I have seen you, I have hitherto forgotten the note; but I have now sent it, with my good wishes for the prosperity of you and your partner', of whom, from our short conversation, I could not judge otherwise than favourably. I am, sir, your most humble servant,

2

"SAM. JOHNSON."

On Saturday, June 2, I set out for Scotland, and had promised to pay a visit, in my way, as I sometimes did, at Southill, in Bedfordshire, at the hospitable mansion of Squire Dilly, the elder brother of my worthy friends, the booksellers, in the Poultry. Dr. Johnson agreed to be of the party this year, with Mr. Charles Dilly and me, and to go and see Lord Bute's seat at Luton Hoe. He talked little to us in the carriage, being chiefly occupied in reading Dr. Watson's second volume of "Chemical Essays," which he liked very well, and his own "Prince of Abyssinia," on which he seemed to be intensely fixed; having told us, that he had not looked at it since it was first finished. I happened to take it out of my pocket this day, and he seized upon it with avidity. He pointed out to me the following remarkable passage: By what means (said the prince) are the Europeans thus powerful? or why, since they can so easily visit Asia and Africa for trade or conquest,

1 Mr. Barclay, a descendant of Robert Barclay, of Ury, the celebrated apologist of the people called Quakers, and remarkable for maintaining the principles of his venerable progenitor, with as much of the elegance of modern manners as is consistent with primitive simplicity.-BOSWELL.

2 Now Bishop of Llandaff, one of the poorest bishopricks in this kingdom. His lordship has written with much zeal to show the propriety of equalizing the revenues of bishops. He has informed us that he has burnt all his chemical papers. The friends of our excellent constitution, now assailed on every side by innovators and levellers, would have less regretted the suppression of some of his lordship's other writings.-BOSWELL.

1

cannot the Asiaticks and Africans invade their coasts, plant colonies in their ports, and give laws to their natural princes? The same wind that carried them back would bring us thither." "They are more powerful, sir, than we (answered Imlac), because they are wiser. Knowledge will always predominate over ignorance, as man governs the other animals. But why their knowledge is more than ours, I know not what reason can be given but the unsearchable will of the Supreme Being." He said, "This, sir, no man can explain otherwise."

We stopped at Welwin, where I wished much to see, in company with Johnson, the residence of the authour of "Night Thoughts," which was then possessed by his son, Mr. Young. Here some address was requisite, for I was not acquainted with Mr. Young, and had I proposed to Dr. Johnson that we should send to him, he would have checked my wish, and perhaps been offended. I therefore concerted with Mr. Dilly, that I should steal away from Dr. Johnson and him, and try what reception I could

ure from Mr. Young: if unfavourable, nothing was to be said; but if agreeable, I should return and notify it to them. I hastened to Mr. Young's, found he was at home, sent in word that a gentleman desired to wait upon him, and was shown into a parlour, where he and a young lady, his daughter, were sitting. He appeared to be a plain, civil, country gentleman; and when I begged pardon for presuming to trouble him, but that I wished much to see his place, if he would give me leave, he behaved very courteously, and answered, "By all means, sir. We are just going to drink tea; will you sit down ?" I thanked him, but said that Dr. Johnson had come with me from

1 The Phoenicians and Carthaginians did plant colonies in Europe.-KEARNEY.

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London, and I must return to the inn to drink tea with him that my name was Boswell; I had travelled with him in the Hebrides. "Sir," said he, "I should think it a great honour to see Dr. Johnson here. Will you allow me to send for him?" Availing myself of this opening, I said that "I would go myself and bring him when he had drunk tea; he knew nothing of my calling here." Having been thus successful, I hastened back to the inr, and informed Dr. Johnson that "Mr. Young, son of Dr. Young, the authour of Night Thoughts,' whom I had just left, desired to have the honour of seeing him at the house where his father lived." Dr. Johnson luckily made no inquiry how this invitation had arisen, but agreed to go; and when we entered Mr. Young's parlour, he addressed him with a very polite bow, "Sir, I had a curiosity to come and see this place. I had the honour to know that great man your father." We went into the garden, where we found a gravel walk, on each side of which was a row of trees, planted by Dr. Young, which formed a handsome Gothick arch. Dr. Johnson called it a fine grove. I beheld it with reverence.

We sat some time in the summer-house, on the outside wall of which was inscribed, "Ambulantes in horto audiebant vocem Dei1;" and in the reference to a brook by which it is situated, "Vivendi rectè qui prorogat horam," &c. I said to Mr. Young, that I had been told his father was cheerful. "Sir," said he," he was too well bred a man not to be cheerful

["Walking in the garden they heard the voice of God." Genesis, iii. 8.

-ED.]

in company; but he was gloomy when alone. He never was cheerful after my mother's death, and he had met with many disappointments." Dr. Johnson observed to me afterwards, "That this was no favourable account of Dr. Young; for it is not becoming in a man to have so little acquiescence in the ways of Providence, as to be gloomy because he has not obtained as much preferment as he expected; nor to continue gloomy for the loss of his wife. Grief has its time." The last part of this censure was theoretically made. Practically, we know that grief for the loss of a wife may be continued very long, in proportion as affection has been sincere. No man knew this better than Dr. Johnson.

We went into the church, and looked at the monument erected by Mr. Young to his father. Mr. Young mentioned an anecdote, that his father had received several thousand pounds. of subscriptionmoney for his "Universal Passion," but had lost it in the South Sea. Dr. Johnson thought this must be a mistake, for he had never seen a subscriptionbook.

Upon the road we talked of the uncertainty of profit with which authours and booksellers engage in the publication of literary works. JOHNSON. "My judgment I have found is no certain rule as to the sale of a book." BOSWELL. "Pray, sir, have you been much plagued with authours sending you their works to revise?" JOHNSON. "No, sir; I have been thought a sour surly fellow." BOSWELL. "Very lucky for you, sir,-in that respect." I must however observe, that, notwithstanding what he now said, which he no doubt imagined at the time to be the fact, there was, perhaps, no man who more frequently

This assertion is disproved by a comparison of dates. The first four satires of Young were published in 1725. The South Sea scheme (which appears to be meant) was in 1720.-MALONE.