_I.--Edinburgh, Fifeshire, and Aberdeen_
Boswell's first considerable book was a lively description
of his tour in Corsica, but his fame rests on his "Life of
Dr. Johnson" (see LIVES AND LETTERS), and his "Journal of
a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D." was
really the first portion of that great work, and was
meant, as he himself said, "to delineate Dr. Johnson's
manners and character" more than to give any detailed
descriptions of scenery. We have chosen to include it in
the travel section of our work, however, as it might be
more readily looked for there than under "Johnson" in the
department of "Lives and Letters." The journal was
published in the autumn of 1785, about nine months after
the death of Johnson.
Dr. Johnson had for many years given me hopes that we should go together
and visit the Hebrides. In spring, 1773, he talked of coming to Scotland
that year with so much firmness that I hoped he was at last in earnest.
I knew that if he were once launched from the metropolis he would go
forward very well. Luckily, Mr. Justice (now Sir Robert) Chambers
conducted Dr. Johnson from London to Newcastle; and Mr. Scott, of
University College, Oxford, accompanied him from thence to Edinburgh.
On Saturday, August 14, 1773, late in the evening, I received a note
from him, that he had arrived in Boyd's Inn, at the head of the
Canongate. I went to him directly. He embraced me cordially, and I
exulted in the thought that I had him actually in Caledonia. He was to
do me the honour to lodge under my roof. We walked arm-in-arm up the
High Street to my house in James's Court. It was a dusky night; but he
acknowledged that the breadth of the street, and the loftiness of the
buildings on each side, made a noble appearance. My wife had tea ready,
which it is well known he delighted to drink at all hours; and he showed
much complacency upon finding that the mistress of the house was so
attentive to his singular habit. On Sunday, after dinner, Principal
Robertson came and drank wine with us, and there was some animated
dialogue. During the next two days we walked out that Dr. Johnson might
see some of the things which we have to show at Edinburgh, such as
Parliament House, where the lords of session now hold their courts, the
Advocates' Library, St. Giles's great church, the Royal Infirmary, the
Abbey of Holyrood House, and the Palace, where our beautiful Queen Mary
lived, and in which David Rizzio was murdered.
We set out from Edinburgh on Wednesday, August 18, crossed the Frith of
Forth by boat, touching at the island of Inch Keith, and landed in Fife
at Kinghorn, where we took a post-chaise, and had a dreary drive to St.
Andrews. We arrived late, and were received at St. Leonard's College by
Professor Watson. We were conducted to see St. Andrew, our oldest
university, and the seat of our primate in the days of episcopacy. Dr.
Johnson's veneration for the hierarchy affected him with a strong
indignation while he beheld the ruins of religious magnificence. I
happened to ask where John Knox was buried. Dr. Johnson burst out: "I
hope in the highway! I have been looking at his reformations."
We left St. Andrews August 20, and drove through Leuchars, Dundee, and
Aberbrothick to Montrose. Travelling onwards, we had the Grampian Hills
in view, and some good land around us, but void of trees and hedges; and
the Doctor observed that it was wonderful to see a land so denuded of
timber. Beyond Lawrence Kirk we visited and dined with Lord Monboddo,
and after a tedious journey we came to Aberdeen. Next morning Principal
Campbell and other college professors called for us, and we went with
them and saw Marischal College.
Afterwards we waited on the magistrates in the Town Hall. They had
invited us to present Dr. Johnson with the freedom of the town, which
Provost Jopp did with a very good grace. Dr. Johnson was much pleased
with this mark of attention, and received it very politely. It was
striking to hear the numerous company drinking "Dr. Johnson! Dr.
Johnson!" and then to see him with his burgess ticket, or diploma, in
his hat, which he wore as he walked along the streets, according to the
usual custom. We dined with the provost and a large company of
professors at the house of Sir Alexander Gordon, Professor of Medicine,
but there was little or no conversation.
_II.--Through the Macbeth Country_
We resumed our journey northwards on the morning of August 24. Having
received a polite invitation to Slains Castle, we proceeded thither, and
were graciously welcomed. Lady Errol pressed us to stay all night, and
ordered the coach to carry us to see the great curiosity on the coast at
Dunbui, which is a monstrous cauldron, called by the country people the
Pot. Dr. Johnson insisted on taking a boat and sailing into the Pot, and
we found caves of considerable depth on each side.
Returning to the castle, Dr. Johnson observed that its situation was the
noblest he had ever seen, better than Mount Edgcumbe, reckoned the first
in England. About nine, the earl, who had been absent, came home. His
agreeable manners and softness of address prevented that constraint
which the idea of his being Lord High Constable of Scotland might
otherwise have occasioned. He talked very easily and sensibly with his
learned guest. We left Slains Castle next morning, and, driving by Banff
and Elgin, where the noble ruins of the cathedral were examined by Dr.
Johnson with a patient attention, reached Forres on the night of August
26. That afternoon we drove over the very heath where Macbeth met the
witches, according to tradition. Dr. Johnson solemnly recited:
How far is't called to Forres? What are these,
So withered, and so wild is their attire?
They look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
And yet are on't.
From Forres we came to Nairn, and thence to the manse of the minister of
Calder, Mr. Kenneth Macaulay, author of the "History of St. Kilda,"
where we stayed the night, after visiting the old castle, the seat of
the Thane of Cawdor. Thence we drove to Fort George, where we dined with
the governor, Sir Eyre Coote (afterwards the gallant conqueror of Hyder
Ali, and preserver of our Indian Empire), and then got safely to
Inverness. Next day we went to Macbeth's Castle. I had a romantic
satisfaction in seeing Dr. Johnson actually in it. It perfectly
corresponds with Shakespeare's description, which Sir Joshua Reynolds
has so happily illustrated in one of his notes on our immortal poet:
This castle has a pleasant seat: the air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses.
Just as we came out of it a raven perched upon one of the chimney-tops
and croaked. Then I repeated:
The raven himself is hoarse,
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements.
On Monday, August 30, we began our equitation. We had three horses for
Dr. Johnson, myself, and Joseph, my servant, and one which carried our
portmanteaus, and two Highlanders walked along with us. Dr. Johnson rode
very well. It was a delightful day. Loch Ness and the road upon the side
of it, shaded with birch-trees, pleased us much. The night was spent at
Fort Augustus, and the next two days we travelled through a wild
country, with prodigious mountains on each side.
_III.--In the Misty Hebrides_
We came at last to Glenelg, and next morning we got into a boat for Sky,
and reached the shore of Armidale. Sir Alexander Macdonald, chief of the
Macdonalds in the Isle of Sky, came down to receive us. Armidale is
situated on a pretty bay of the narrow sea which flows between the
mainland of Scotland and the Isle of Sky. In front there is a grand
prospect of the rude mountains Moidart and Knoidart. Dr. Johnson and I
were now full of the old Highland spirit, and were dissatisfied at
hearing of racked rents and emigration, and finding a chief not
surrounded by his clan. We attempted in vain to communicate to him a
portion of our enthusiasm.
On September 6 we set out, accompanied by Mr. Donald Macleod as our
guide, for Corrichatachin, in the district of Strath. This farm is
possessed by Mr. Mackinnon, who received us with a hearty welcome. The
company was numerous and cheerful, and we, for the first time, had a
specimen of the joyous social manners of the inhabitants of the
Highlands. They talked in their own language with fluent vivacity, and
sang many Erse songs.
The following day the Rev. Donald Macqueen arrived to take us to the
Island of Rasay, in Macgillichallum's carriage. Along with him came, as
our pilot, Mr. Malcolm Macleod, one of the Rasay family, celebrated in
the year 1745-46. We got into Rasay's carriage, which was a strong open
boat. Dr. Johnson sat high on the stern like a magnificent triton.
The approach to Rasay was very pleasing. We saw before us a beautiful
bay, well defended by a rocky coast, a good family mansion, a fine
verdure about it, with a considerable number of trees, and beyond it
hills and mountains in gradation of wildness. A large company came out
from the house to meet us as we landed, headed by Rasay himself, whose
family has possessed this island above four hundred years.
From Rasay we sailed to Portree, in Sky, and then rode in wretched
weather to Kingsburgh. There we were received by Mr. Allan Macdonald and
his wife, the celebrated Miss Flora Macdonald. She is a little woman of
a genteel appearance, and uncommonly mild and well-bred. Dr. Johnson was
rather quiescent, and went early to bed. I slept in the same room with
him. Each had a neat bed with tartan curtains. Dr. Johnson's bed was the
very bed in which the grandson of the unfortunate King James II. lay on
one of the nights after the failure of his rash attempt in 1745-46.
To see Dr. Samuel Johnson lying in that bed in the Isle of Sky, in the
house of Miss Flora Macdonald, struck me with such a group of ideas as
is not easy for words to describe as they passed through the mind. He
smiled, and said: "I have no ambitious thoughts in it." Upon the table I
found in the morning a slip of paper on which Dr. Johnson had written
with his pencil these words: "_Quantum cedat virtutibus aurum_" (With
virtue weighed, what worthless trash is gold). What the Doctor meant by
writing them I could not tell. At breakfast he said he would have given
a good deal rather than not have laid in that bed.
Kingsburgh sent us on our way by boat and on horseback to Dunvegan
Castle. The great size of the castle, which is built upon a rock close
to the sea, while the land around presents nothing but wild, moorish,
hilly, and scraggy appearances, gave a rude magnificence to the scene.
We were a jovial company, and the laird, surrounded by so many of his
clan, was to me a pleasing sight. They listened with wonder and pleasure
while Dr. Johnson harangued. The weather having cleared, we set out for
Ulinish, the house of Mr. Macleod, the sheriff-substitute of the island.
From an old tower near the house is an extensive view of Loch Bracadale,
and, at a distance, of the Isles of Barra and South Uist; and on the
land side the Cuillin, a prodigious range of mountains, capped with
rocky pinnacles, in a strange variety of shapes.
From there we came to Talisker, which is a beautiful place with many
well-grown trees, a wide expanse of sea and mountains, and, within a
quarter of a mile from the house, no less than fifteen waterfalls. Mr.
Donald Maclean, the young laird of Col, was now our guide, and conducted
us to Ostig, the residence of Mr. Martin Macpherson, minister of Slate.
There were great storms of wind and rain which confined us to the house,
but we were fully compensated by Dr. Johnson's conversation.
We then returned to Armidale House, from whence we set sail for Mull on
October 3; but encountered during the night a dreadful gale, which
compelled the skipper to run his vessel to the Isle of Col for shelter.
We were detained in Col by storms till October 14, when we safely
crossed to Tobermorie, in the Island of Mull.
Ponies were provided for us, and we rode right across the island, and
then were ferried to the Island of Ulva, where we were received by the
laird, a very ancient chief, whose family has possessed Ulva for nine
hundred years. Next morning we took boat for Inchkenneth, where we were
introduced by Col to Sir Allan Maclean, the chief of his clan, and his
daughters.
On Tuesday, October 19, we took leave of the young ladies, and of our
excellent companion, Col. Sir Allan obligingly undertook to accompany us
to Icolmkill, and we proceeded thither in a boat with four stout rowers,
passing the great cave Gribon on the coast of Mull, the island of
Staffa, on which we could not land on account of the high surge, and
Nuns' Island. After a tedious sail, it gave us no small pleasure to
perceive a light in the village of Icolmkill; and as we approached the
shore, the tower of the cathedral, just discernible in the moonlight,
was a picturesque object. When we had landed upon the sacred place, Dr.
Johnson and I cordially embraced.
I must own that Icolmkill did not answer my expectations, but Dr.
Johnson said it came up to his. We were both disappointed when we were
shown what are called the monuments of the kings of Scotland, Ireland,
and Denmark, and of a king of France. They are only some gravestones
flat on the earth, and we could see no inscription. We set sail at
midday for Mull, where we bade adieu to our very kind conductor, Sir
Allan Maclean, and crossed in the ferry-boat to Oban, from whence next
day we rode to Inverary.
The Rev. John Macaulay, one of the ministers of Inverary, accompanied us
to Inverary Castle, where I presented Dr. Johnson to the Duke of Argyll.
Dr. Johnson was much struck by the grandeur and elegance of this
princely seat. At dinner, the duchess was very attentive to Dr. Johnson,
who talked a great deal, and was so entertaining that she placed her
chair close to his, leaned upon the back of it, and listened eagerly.
Dr. Johnson was all attention to her grace. From Inverary we passed to
Rosedow, the beautiful seat of Sir James Colquhoun, on the banks of the
Loch Lomond, and after passing a pleasant day boating round the loch and
visiting some of the islands, we proceeded to Cameron, the seat of
Commissary Smollett, from which we drove in a post-chaise to Glasgow,
inspecting by the way Dunbarton Castle.
_IV.--In the West of Scotland_
During the day we spent in Glasgow, we were received in the college by a
number of the professors, who showed all due respect to Dr. Johnson; and
Dr. Leechman, Principal of the University, had the satisfaction of
telling Dr. Johnson that his name had been gratefully celebrated 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. On
Saturday we set out towards Ayrshire, and on November 2 reached my
father's residence, Auchinleck.
My father was not quite a year and a half older than Dr. Johnson. His
age, office, and character had long given him an acknowledged claim to
great attention in whatever company he was, and he could ill brook any
diminution of it. He was as sanguine a Whig and Presbyterian as Dr.
Johnson was a Tory and Church of England man; and as he had not much
leisure to be informed of Dr. Johnson's great merits by reading his
works, he had a partial and unfavourable notion of him, founded on his
supposed political tenets, which were so discordant to his own that,
instead of speaking of him with that respect to which he was entitled,
he used to call him "a Jacobite fellow."
Knowing all this, I should not have ventured to bring them together had
not my father, out of kindness to me, desired me to invite Dr. Johnson
to his house. All went very smoothly till one day they came into
collision. If I recollect right, the contest began while my father was
showing him his collection of medals; and Oliver Cromwell's coin
unfortunately introduced Charles the First and Toryism. They became
exceedingly warm and violent; and in the course of their altercation
Whiggism and Presbyterism, Toryism and Episcopacy were terribly
buffeted. My father's opinion of Dr. Johnson may be conjectured by the
name he afterwards gave him, which was "Ursa Major." However, on leaving
Auchinleck, November 8, for Edinburgh, my father, who had the dignified
courtsy of an old baron, was very civil to Dr. Johnson, and politely
attended him to the post-chaise. We arrived in Edinburgh on Tuesday
night, November 9, after an absence of eighty-three days.
My illustrious friend, being now desirous to be again in the great
theatre of life and animated exertion, took a place in the coach, which
was to set out for London, on Monday, November 22; but I resolved that
we should make a little circuit, as I would by no means lose the
pleasure of seeing _Sam_ Johnson at the very spot where _Ben_ Jonson
visited the learned and poetical Drummond. Accordingly, we drove on the
Saturday to Roslin Castle, surveyed the romantic scene around it, and
the beautiful Gothic chapel. After that we proceeded to Hawthornden and
viewed the caves, and then drove on to Cranston, the seat of Sir John
Dalrymple, where we supped, spent the night, and passed on to the inn at
Blackshields. There on Monday morning Dr. Johnson joined the coach for
London. Dr. Johnson told me on parting that the time he spent in
Scotland, the account of which I have now completed, was the pleasantest
part of his life.