Dr Johnson had brought a Sallust with him in his pocket from
Edinburgh. He gave it last night to Mr M'Aulay's son, a smart young
lad about eleven years old. Dr Johnson had given an account of the
education at Oxford, in all its gradations. The advantage of being
servitor to a youth of little fortune struck Mrs M'Aulay much. I
observed it aloud. Dr Johnson very handsomely and kindly said, that,
if they would send their boy to him, when he was ready for the
university, he would get him made a servitor, and perhaps would do
more for him. He could not promise to do more; but would undertake for
the servitorship. [Footnote: Dr Johnson did not neglect what he had
undertaken. By his interest with the Rev. Dr Adams, master of Pembroke
College, Oxford, where he was educated for some time, he obtained a
servitorship for young M'Aulay. But it seems he had other views; and I
believe went abroad.]
I should have mentioned that Mr White, a Welchman, who has been many
years factor (i.e. steward) on the estate of Calder, drank tea with us
last night, and upon getting a note from Mr M'Aulay, asked us to his
house. We had not time to accept of his invitation. He gave us a
letter of introduction to Mr Ferne, master of stores at Fort George.
He shewed it to me. It recommended 'two celebrated gentlemen; no less
than Dr Johnson, AUTHOR OF HIS DICTIONARY, and Mr Boswell, known at
Edinburgh by the name of Paoli'. He said, he hoped I had no objection
to what he had written; if I had, he would alter it. I thought it was
a pity to check his effusions, and acquiesced; taking care, however,
to seal the letter, that it might not appear that I had read it.
A conversation took place, about saying grace at breakfast (as we do
in Scotland) as well as at dinner and supper; in which Dr Johnson
said, 'It is enough if we have stated seasons of prayer; no matter
when. A man may as well pray when he mounts his horse, or a woman when
she milks her cow, (which Mr Grant told us is done in the Highlands),
as at meals; and custom is to be followed.' [Footnote: He could not
bear to have it thought that, in any instance whatever, the Scots are
more pious than the English. I think grace as proper at breakfast as
at any other meal. It is the pleasantest meal we have. Dr Johnson has
allowed the peculiar merit of breakfast in Scotland.]
We proceeded to Fort George. When we came into the square, I sent a
soldier with the letter to Mr Ferne. He came to us immediately, and
along with him came Major Brewse of the Engineers, pronounced BRUCE.
He said he believed it was originally the same Norman name with Bruce.
That he had dined at a house in London, where were three Bruces, one
of the Irish line, one of the Scottish line, and himself of the
English line. He said he was shewn it in the Herald's office spelt
fourteen different ways. I told him the different spellings of my
name. Dr Johnson observed, that there had been great disputes about
the spelling of Shakspear's name; at last it was thought it would be
settled by looking at the original copy of his will; but, upon
examining it, he was found to have written it himself no less than
three different ways.
Mr Ferne and Major Brewse first carried us to wait on Sir Eyre Coote,
whose regiment, the 37th, was lying here, and who then commanded the
fort. He asked us to dine with him, which we agreed to do.
Before dinner we examined the fort. The Major explained the
fortification to us, and Mr Ferne gave us an account of the stores. Dr
Johnson talked of the proportions of charcoal and salt-petre in making
gunpowder, of granulating it, and of giving it a gloss. He made a very
good figure upon these topicks. He said to me afterwards, that he had
talked OSTENTATIOUSLY. We reposed ourselves a little in Mr Ferne's
house. He had every thing in neat order as in England; and a tolerable
collection of books. I looked into Pennant's Tour in Scotland. He says
little of this fort; but that 'the barracks, &c. form several
streets'. This is aggrandizing. Mr Ferne observed, if he had said they
form a square, with a row of buildings before it, he would have given
a juster description. Dr Johnson remarked, 'how seldom descriptions
correspond with realities; and the reason is, that people do not write
them till some time after, and then their imagination has added
circumstances'.
We talked of Sir Adolphus Oughton. The Major said, he knew a great
deal for a military man. JOHNSON. 'Sir, you will find few men, of any
profession, who know more. Sir Adolphus is a very extraordinary man; a
man of boundless curiosity and unwearied diligence.'
I know not how the Major contrived to introduce the contest between
Warburton and Lowth. JOHNSON. 'Warburton kept his temper all along,
while Lowth was in a passion. Lowth published some of Warburton's
letters. Warburton drew HIM on to write some very abusive letters, and
then asked his leave to publish them; which he knew Lowth could not
refuse, after what he had done. So that Warburton contrived that he
should publish, apparently with Lowth's consent, what could not but
shew Lowth in a disadvantageous light.' [Footnote: Here Dr Johnson
gave us part of a conversation held between a Great Personage and him,
in the library at the Queen's Palace, to the course of which this
contest was considered. I have been at great pains to get that
conversation as perfectly preserved as possible. It may perhaps at
some future time be given to the publick.]
At three the drum beat for dinner. I, for a little while, fancied
myself a military man, and it pleased me. We went to Sir Eyre Coote's,
at the governour's house, and found him a most gentleman-like man. His
lady is a very agreeable woman, with an uncommonly mild and sweet tone
of voice. There was a pretty large company: Mr Ferne, Major Brewse,
and several officers. Sir Eyre had come from the East Indies by land,
through the Desarts of Arabia. He told us, the Arabs could live five
days without victuals, and subsist for three weeks on nothing else but
the blood of their camels, who could lose so much of it as would
suffice for that time, without being exhausted. He highly praised the
virtue of the Arabs; their fidelity, if they undertook to conduct any
person; and said, they would sacrifice their lives rather than let him
be robbed. Dr Johnson, who is always for maintaining the superiority
of civilized over uncivilized men, said, 'Why, sir, I can see no
superiour virtue in this. A serjeant and twelve men, who are my guard,
will die, rather than that I shall be robbed.' Colonel Pennington, of
the 37th regiment, took up the argument with a good deal of spirit and
ingenuity. PENNINGTON. 'But the soldiers are compelled to this, by
fear of punishment.' JOHNSON. 'Well, sir, the Arabs are compelled by
the fear of infamy.' PENNINGTON. 'The soldiers have the same fear of
infamy, and the fear of punishment besides; so have less virtue;
because they act less voluntarily.' Lady Coote observed very well,
that it ought to be known if there was not, among the Arabs, some
punishment for not being faithful on such occasions.
We talked of the stage. I observed, that we had not now such a company
of actors as in the last age; Wilks, Booth, &c. &c. JOHNSON. 'You
think so, because there is one who excels all the rest so much: you
compare them with Garrick, and see the deficiency. Garrick's great
distinction is his universality. He can represent all modes of life,
but that of an easy fine-bred gentleman.' PENNINGTON. 'He should give
over playing young parts.' JOHNSON. 'He does not take them now; but he
does not leave off those which he has been used to play, because he
does them better than any one else can do them. If you had generations
of actors, if they swarmed like bees, the young ones might drive off
the old. Mrs Gibber, I think, got more reputation than she deserved,
as she had a great sameness; though her expression was undoubtedly
very fine. Mrs Clive was the best player I ever saw. Mrs Pritchard was
a very good one; but she had something affected in her manner: I
imagine she had some player of the former age in her eye, which
occasioned it.'
Colonel Pennington said, Garrick sometimes failed in emphasis; as for
instance, in Hamlet,