Four years of life remained to Boswell after the publication of the
great biography. His death came at the due moment; he was not cut off
in the midst of a great undertaking or in the course of an important
development. It is inconceivable that, had he lived, he would have
produced another biography which should be comparable to the 'Life of
Johnson.' An autobiography he might indeed have written, but there is
no sign that he was engaged upon such a work in the closing years,
or that the idea had taken definite shape in his mind; his nature was
rather that of the casual autobiographer, such as we find him in the
'Life' from time to time, and particularly in the 'Letters to Temple';
and it is doubtful whether his autobiography, if ever it had been
written, would have added much to letters and diaries which were no
doubt in existence, though not preserved for our eyes.[1] The great
labour of his life had been accomplished: and he was allowed a little
time longer to see that it was approved by his own generation.
Several questions naturally present themselves when we consider the
end of a man's life. Has he been successful? What is his position in
the world? Do men respect him? Do they love him?
Boswell, we had occasion to remark before, had not been, in the
ordinary sense, successful. He had always been ambitious; he had
wanted to be 'the great man'; he had coveted the world's honours; he
would have liked to be busy with the affairs of a nation, or, at the
least, to have been reputed a leading barrister. But the glory which
fell to the lot of those who governed this country was withheld from
Boswell; in the legal and political spheres he failed. The one post
which he obtained, as Recorder of Carlisle--and it was one of no
importance--he resigned in 1790, because he could no longer brook the
overbearing behaviour of an insolent patron.
Certainly Boswell was far from attaining such fame as he desired;
but at the same time he had a very remarkable success. What then was
Boswell's reputation among his contemporaries?
The literary world had welcomed the 'Tour to the Hebrides'; men of
discrimination had seen that it was a very remarkable book. And yet
Boswell's talents won little respect from this performance. It was
amazingly indiscreet; and censure was more readily bestowed upon the
author's indiscretion than praise upon his art. It was easy to account
for the interest of the book, as Gray and Walpole had accounted
for the charm of the 'Tour in Corsica,' by the peculiarities of the
writer; and though to many so shallow an explanation must have been
unsatisfactory, it detracted from Boswell's reputation as a man of
letters. Moreover, the caricaturists were always busy with Boswell's
oddities: the 'Tour to the Hebrides' provided ample store for the
exercise of their wit, and the persistency of their ridicule no doubt
hindered the recognition of Boswell's talents. When the 'Life of
Johnson' was published, the subject of Boswell and Johnson had been
somewhat played out. A number of 'Lives' of Johnson had already
appeared; besides Hawkins, Mrs. Thrale, and Murphy, several less known
pens had made use of so promising a subject. The public interest in
Johnson had begun to wane. The sale of Boswell's 'Life' was actually
rather less rapid than was expected. This was, on the whole,
an advantage. The work obtained a less hasty and more serious
consideration. Some who would have bought the book five years before,
when the subject was fresh, and the expectation to be amused by
Boswell was still keen, probably now refrained. Those who bought
Boswell's 'Life' bought it, one may surmise, as the best book about
Johnson; and, to anyone who read it, Boswell's work must have profited
by comparison with those who had published before him. No doubt
another reason for the graver attitude of the public towards the
'Life' was that it was less indiscreet than the 'Tour'; it provided
less capital for those whose trade it was to amuse, and--by
comparison--provoked very little ridicule.
Boswell's reputation as a serious writer certainly gained enormously
from the 'Life of Johnson.' It gained, in fact, disproportionately.
The plan and scope of the 'Life' are larger than that of the 'Tour';
but the earlier book exhibits in their maturity, and equally well, all
the qualities for which we most value Boswell.
It was the later work, however, that brought honour to Boswell. The
publication of the _magnum opus_ in April 1791 led to a distinction
which he can hardly have expected. 'In July 1791,' we read in Taylor's
'Life of Reynolds,' 'Boswell to his great delight was appointed
Secretary for Foreign Correspondence to the Academy in lieu of
Baretti. The newspapers abounded in squibs at his appointment, for
Bozzy's weaknesses were favourite game with the small wits.' The
announcement, with its double import of respect and ridicule, gives a
fair indication of Boswell's reputation among his contemporaries.
It was easy not to respect Boswell; it was difficult not to love him.
He was a 'truly social' man. 'His conversation talents were always
pleasing and often fascinating.'[2] Boswell, in his best form, must
have been irresistible. His spirits were tremendous and they
were constantly bubbling over. Such spirits are infectious and
intoxicating. They are like 'tone' in a violin; the full resonance,
the very robustness of the sound, carries one away. Boswell, it may be
said, had 'tone.' His gaiety and good humour were not self-contained,
but expanded to others. The mainspring, or whatever it be that works
the human being, was particularly powerful and active in his case; and
his companions must have felt it.
The testimony as to his radiating good humour is unanimous. Dr. Rogers
in describing his personal appearance says 'his well-set features
beamed with perpetual good humour,' and certainly the portraits bear
him out. 'It was impossible,' remarked a contemporary, 'to look upon
his face without being moved by the comicality which always reigned
upon it.'[3] 'It is no wonder,' says his friend John Taylor, 'that Mr.
Boswell was universally well received. He was full of anecdote, well
acquainted with the most distinguished characters, good-humoured, and
ready at repartee. There was a kind of jovial bluntness in his manner,
which threw off all restraint even with strangers, and immediately
kindled a social familiarity.'[4]
Malone, replying to a detractor of Boswell, wrote:
The most important misrepresentation is, that Mr. Boswell was
convivial without being _social or friendly_; a falsehood,
which all who knew him intimately, can peremptorily
contradict. He had not only an inexhaustible fund of
good-humour and good-nature, but was extremely warm in his
attachments, and as ready to exert himself for his friends as
any man.
It would be tedious to discuss Boswell's character with reference to
his popularity, explaining the various qualities which were or were
not attractive in him. A good-natured and affectionate disposition,
supported by high spirits, gives the key to many hearts; and Boswell's
lack of dignity, and even his weaknesses, may have endeared him still
more, when it was considered that there was nothing low or mean about
him.
Popular he certainly was; he had many acquaintances and also a number
of very good friends. Boswell, though he was volatile enough in some
of his relations with the opposite sex, was very constant in his real
affections. Temple was still his greatest friend at the end of his
life. His fidelity to Johnson was remarkable, and surprised his
contemporaries; and he was no less faithful to his other hero, Paoli.
The General, indeed, was always very kind to Boswell, especially when
he came to live in London after the death of his wife, and
Boswell more than once stayed in his house.[5] Reynolds, the most
distinguished among Boswell's friends of the Johnsonian circle, is
mentioned by Malone as having had 'a very warm regard' for Boswell.[6]
He left him £200 to buy a picture, to be kept for his sake.[7] Charles
Dilly was Boswell's friend only for a less time than was Temple; and
Boswell, it appears, was a second host in Dilly's house:
If ever the strict rule of decorum was by chance infringed
on, it was on those occasional days when, inevitable business
preventing the master of the house from sitting so long with
his guests as he could wish, the pleasure of entertaining them
was deputed to his kind-hearted and pleasant friend, James
Boswell.[8]
Courtenay, Dempster and Sir William Forbes were all old friends, and
friends to the last. Forbes was Boswell's literary executor in company
with Malone and Temple. Malone's acquaintance with Boswell was more
recent; but his friendship does Boswell more credit almost than any
other. Its ten years began by Malone correcting the proof-sheets
of the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' and ended by his preparing the third
edition of the 'Life.' His affection for Boswell not only survived
these labours, but grew up with them.[9] Shortly after Boswell's death
he wrote a handsome defence of Boswell, who had been attacked by
a journalist in the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Some parts of it have
already been quoted here. Malone knew Boswell at the end of his life
better perhaps than anyone, and the letter is authoritative as coming
from his pen; it not only bears testimony to his friendship, but also
gives a valuable estimate of Boswell.
He was 'extremely warm in his attachments,' Malone tells us. He
also pays a striking tribute to his devotion to Dr. Johnson and his
intellectual abilities:
His fervent attachment to Dr. Johnson at the early age of
three-and-twenty, when the dissipation and amusements of
London hold out to men of such lively parts as he possessed
irresistible attraction, reflects great credit on his memory.
His veneration and esteem for his friend induced him, at
a subsequent period, to go through the laborious task of
arranging and digesting the immense mass of materials with
which his own diligence and the kindness of his friends had
furnished him; and of forming his history of the life of that
excellent and extraordinary man; one of the most instructive
and entertaining books in the English language.... Mr. Boswell
undoubtedly possessed considerable intellectual powers, for
which he has not had sufficient credit; many supposing him to
be a mere relator of the sayings of others: but it is manifest
to every reader of any discernment that he never could have
collected such a mass of information and just observation on
human life as his very valuable work contains, without great
strength of mind and much various knowledge; as he never could
have displayed his collections in so lively a manner as he has
done, had he not possessed a very picturesque imagination, or,
in other words, had he not had a very happy turn for poetry as
well as for humour and for wit.
Mr. Malone ends his letter by paying a final tribute to the affection
of Boswell's friends:
He will long be regretted by a wide circle of friends, to whom
his good qualities and social talents always made his company
a valuable accession; and by none more sincerely than the
present vindicator of his fame.
* * * * *
Life is commonly somewhat of a battle. Blows are given and received.
Flags are lost and won. Positions are captured and surrendered. Limbs
are crushed and amputated. There are many ugly wounds; some bleed and
fester; some are healed. It is natural to look back on life, as the
general surveys the battlefield and the hospitals, to count the score.
At the end of all the struggle and the horror, the strange joys and
the fantastic dreams, what has happened? What view does the fighter
take himself? Was the cause worth struggling for, after all is done?
Would he fight on the same side if he could start again? Would he
refrain from fighting? Or would he fight with a different object? Is
the essential man the same? Or have his ambitions and desires and the
vital force of the man been modified? And if so how much? Can they be
recognised as the same equipment with which he set forth, or has the
consuming fire burnt out, and the bright flame grown pale and dim?
Boswell was not an old man when he died; and apart from the
prostration caused by ill-health--for he was frequently ill towards
the close of his life--his robust vigour seems hardly to have
diminished. In July 1790, a year after Mrs. Boswell's death, he seems
already to entertain some matrimonial scheme.[10] This apparently
was the first of a fresh suite. In the spring of 1791 he is looking
forward to the pleasure of meeting a certain Miss Bagnal, 'who may
probably have six or seven hundred a year.' 'Here then I am,
my Temple,' exclaims Boswell, 'my flattering self! A scheme, an
adventure, seizes upon my fancy.' Assuredly this is the old Boswell.
In his whole outlook upon life Boswell, in fact, changed very little.
He had failed in the main battle; the ambitious dreams which pleased
him most had not come to pass. Neither as politician nor as barrister
had he won the smallest degree of fame. He was, and is, famous in a
rarer sort: yet he had esteemed literary fame at a much lower rate.
And at the end of his life he still measured distinction by the same
old standards. He felt that the struggle had gone against him: but
he never doubted of the cause for which he was fighting. As late as
August 1791, some months after the 'Life of Johnson' appeared, he
wrote to Temple as though he were on the eve of a legal career:
I have gone the full round of the Home Circuit, to which I
have returned, finding it much more pleasant, and, though I
did not get a single brief, do not repent of the expense, as
I am showing myself desirous of business and imbibing legal
knowledge.
He still was building castles in the air of the old type; still,
sometimes, he took an opportunity to be 'conspicuous' and made
conscious efforts to 'be the great man.' Almost simultaneously with
the 'Life,' he published a political poem, 'No Abolition of Slavery,
or The Universal Empire of Love.' It was of a semi-frivolous nature,
the argument being drawn from a premise that slavery is the most
agreeable of 'goods,' when it is enforced by the chains of loving
devotion. The name of Miss Bagnal is introduced, and it is difficult
to tell whether the whole may not be an elaborate attempt to bring off
a marriage with that lady. But it is evident from a remark to Temple,
that the main purpose is political:
I am thinking to curtail my poem on the Slave Trade, and throw
it into the world just before the great question comes on next
Wednesday.
A rumour of war with Russia also rouses the public spirit of Boswell
to seek distinction, and he hesitates
whether I should not write one of my characteristical
pamphlets on this crisis--An Appeal to the People upon the
threatened project of involving this country in a war with
Russia, in order to assist the Turks.
At the end of his life Boswell had not deserted his ambition, and, as
far as we can tell, he had not forgotten his disappointment. There
are few 'Letters to Temple' during these last few years, and it is
difficult to form an exact idea of Boswell's state of mind. For the
year 1792 we have only one note of a few lines: it begins, 'Still I
cannot write a long letter.' These words suggest, though they do not
prove, that Boswell had been in low spirits; for such a condition was
frequently a reason for neglecting to write. For the following year
there are three letters. In the first, Boswell refers to the pain
it gives him to visit Auchinleck; in the second, he discusses with
remorse his habit of indulgence in wine; in the third, he says
'My spirits are somewhat better, but by no means right yet.' It is
probable that Boswell wrote more regularly in 1794, but only one
letter to Temple exists. This, the last letter written in his own
hand, is much more cheerful in tone, and concerned more with Temple
than with himself. But this alone is no evidence to prove that Boswell
at the end of his life was contented with his lot and satisfied with
the measure of success he had attained. The reverse is far more likely
to be the case. As late as 1791 he had time, in the very throes of
publishing the _magnum opus_, to brood over 'the disappointment of my
hopes in life.' He clearly suffered from low spirits during the next
two years, and it can hardly be supposed that his disappointment,
though only one of several causes, had nothing to do with it.
The old standards had not changed. The same weights and measures,
which were adopted early in life, still at the end of it were used to
determine the deeds of men and fix their value. And yet a change had
come. In the 'Letters to Temple' a certain difference of tone may be
distinguished after Boswell lost his wife. It was partly that he began
fully to realise the failure of his ambitious plans; and it was still
more a different attitude which that realisation involved. When a
man discovers that he cannot get what he wants, he is apt to pay more
attention to what he already has.
Though literature did not supply for Boswell the wine of life, it had
always attracted him very strongly. He had a taste for books and a
very keen desire for learning; above all, he had literary ambition.
He made a number of literary plans besides that of writing Johnson's
'Life.'[11] He was not merely, in his own conception, the biographer
of Johnson, but the man of letters in a most extended fashion, and
something of a scholar. And it was towards the end of his life, though
then concerned almost exclusively with Johnson, that Boswell was most
industrious in the literary field. Not only did he publish the _magnum
opus_ four years before his death, but he continued diligently to
collect fresh material. The second edition appeared two years later,
in July 1793. The third edition was being prepared, with Malone's
valuable help, when Boswell died. The biographer evidently did not
consider his labours ended when the 'Life of Johnson' was at last
published. Its favourable reception 'has excited,' he says in the
Advertisement to the Second Edition, 'my best exertions to render my
Book more perfect; and in this endeavour I have had the assistance not
only of some of my particular friends, but of many other learned and
ingenious men, by which I have been able to rectify some mistakes, and
to enrich the Work with many valuable additions.'
The scale of Boswell's literary efforts towards the end of his life
is the measure of his satisfaction in the performance, and this
satisfaction, though it did not take the place of the magnificent
pleasure he had imagined in being 'the great man,' and did not cure
his disappointment, must have frequently consoled, and, in some moods,
keenly delighted Boswell. In the 'Life' he expresses, with a note of
triumph, his satisfaction in the fate of the 'Tour to the Hebrides':
To please the true, candid, warm admirers of Johnson, and in
any degree increase the splendour of his reputation, I bid
defiance to the shafts of ridicule, or even of malignity.
Showers of them have been discharged at my 'Journal of a Tour
to the Hebrides'; yet it still sails unhurt along the stream
of time, and, as attendant upon Johnson,
Pursues the triumph, and partakes the gale.
Boswell is equally triumphant about the 'Life':
That I was anxious for the success of a Work which had
employed much of my time and labour, I do not wish to conceal:
but whatever doubts I at any time entertained, have been
entirely removed by the very favourable reception with which
it has been honoured.
It was not merely literary fame that so much delighted Boswell: it
was literary fame of the best sort. The most respected of Johnson's
friends and the best critics had praised his book. Boswell could
now feel secure in his own conviction that his 'Life' was beyond
comparison as a portrait of a man and as a portrait of Johnson:
In reflecting that the illustrious subject of this Work, by
being more extensively and more intimately known, however
elevated before, has risen in the veneration and love of
mankind, I feel a satisfaction beyond what fame can afford....
It seems to me, in my moments of self-complacency, that this
extensive biographical work, however inferior in its nature,
may in one respect be assimilated to the Odyssey.
Boswell goes on to explain that the 'Hero,' like Ulysses, 'in the
whole course of the History, is exhibited by the authour for the best
advantage of his readers.' So certain is he of the merits of his book
that he tells his readers, in so many words, that, if they do not like
it, their own bad temper is to blame.
Should there be any cold-blooded morose mortals who really
dislike this Book, I will give them a story to apply. When the
great Duke of Marlborough, accompanied by Lord Cadogan, was
one day reconnoitering the army in Flanders, a heavy rain
came on and they both called for their cloaks. Lord Cadogan's
servant, a good-humoured, alert lad, brought his Lordship's
in a minute. The Duke's servant, a lazy sulky dog, was so
sluggish, that his Grace being wet to the skin, reproved him,
and had for answer, with a grunt, 'I came as fast as I could,'
upon which the Duke calmly said, 'Cadogan, I would not for a
thousand pounds have that fellow's temper.'
Boswell's satisfaction with his literary labours was certainly
well-founded. It is fair to remind those who may condemn this attitude
that he allowed an unduly large share of the book's merits to Dr.
Johnson. Interesting and lovable as Johnson was, he had little to do
with Boswell's execution. The biographer was fortunate--peculiarly
fortunate--in his subject: so much must be allowed and no more.
Boswell's pride did not exceed his deserts. But his 'moments of
self-complacency' must have provided a considerable compensation
for despondent moods when he regretted failure in other spheres. His
'satisfaction' reached a very high pitch when he could calmly say
to an unappreciative reader--for that is what it amounts to--that he
would be sorry to have a temper like that.
It is not remarkable for an author to feel as self-satisfied as
Boswell. Many authors tell their readers, though not so frankly, that
they ought to be interested in a book, and few give so good reasons as
Boswell gave. The point has been laboured here in order to illustrate
the final stage in his paradoxical development; to show in what degree
Boswell, while realising failure in all his magnificent dreams, was
satisfied with the fame he had of another sort. Assuredly he was
pleased with what he had; the degree may be judged from this final
extract from the Advertisement to the Second Edition:
There are some men, I believe, who have, or think they have,
a very small share of vanity. Such may speak of their literary
fame in a decorous style of diffidence. But I confess, that
I am so formed by nature, and by habit, that to restrain the
effusion of delight, on having obtained such fame, to me would
be truly painful. Why then should I suppress it? Why 'out of
the abundance of the heart' should I not speak? Let me then
mention with a warm, but no insolent exultation, that I have
been regaled with spontaneous praise of my work by many and
various persons eminent for their rank, learning, talents and
accomplishments; much of which praise I have under their hands
to be reposited in my archives at Auchinleck. An honourable
and reverend friend, speaking of the favourable reception of
my volumes, even in the circles of fashion and elegance, said
to me, 'You have made them all talk Johnson.'--Yes, I may add,
I have _Johnsonised_ the land; and I trust they will not only
_talk_ but _think_ Johnson.
Boswell, after all, had changed very little since the publication of
the 'Tour in Corsica' in his desire for literary fame, but he must
have had a very different view of what it meant. In early life this
literary ambition was but one aspect of the prevailing idea, to be
'the great man'; and he intended to win respect through literature as
a wise and honoured 'citizen of the world.' He cannot have retained
this delusion after publishing the 'Tour to the Hebrides.' It was
in the very month when the 'Life' appeared that he spoke of 'the
disappointment of my hopes of success in life.' There was no thought
that the 'Life' would redeem these hopes. It was to win praise
and bring esteem: but not in the same sphere with these 'hopes of
success.' Boswell's literary fame compensated his disappointment in
some degree, but by no means banished it. His triumphant satisfaction
was founded, as is the case with many literary men, upon the merits of
literary work and the applause of competent judges.
* * * * *
Such changes as may be observed in Boswell towards the end of his
life arose, it must be repeated, from the failure of his political and
legal ambitions. When he ceased to pursue the adventures suggested by
his wild imagination, he paid more attention to the natural interests
of his position. He was a landlord and a father; and his children had
now no mother. Boswell not only accepted his responsibilities, but
performed something more than his duty.
When Boswell had left Auchinleck and came to live in London, his
opportunities for interesting himself in the welfare of his tenants
and dependants were naturally curtailed. With the strict view of a
landlord's obligations which is commonly held in this age, we may be
inclined to condemn Boswell simply on the ground that he did not live
upon his estate. But, though Ayrshire is a far cry from London, the
Laird of Auchinleck did not forget his position. He was willing to
travel to Scotland 'to transact business with my tenants.' On one
occasion, in 1793, he undertook the journey in order to see that the
parish was provided with a suitable parson: 'The choice of a minister
to a worthy parish is a matter of importance, and I cannot be sure
of the real wishes of the people without being present.' He went to
Auchinleck not because he enjoyed going, but because he thought
he ought to go: 'though the journey will no doubt be uncomfortable
(probably because Boswell was in bad health), and my being alone in
that house where once I was so happy, be dreary in a woeful degree,
the consciousness of duty, and being busy, will I hope support me.'
In Boswell's will special provisions were made for his tenants and
servants:
As there are upon the estate of Auchinleck several
tenants whose families have possessed their farms for many
generations, I do by these presents grant leases for nineteen
years and their respective lifetimes of their present farms
to John Templeton etc.... And I do beseech all the succeeding
heirs of entail to be kind to the Tenants and not turn out old
possessors to get a little more rent.
'Seldom,' exclaims Dr. Rogers, 'has Scottish landlord evinced greater
consideration for his tenantry and domestics.'
As a father, Boswell was no less kind. He had had six children
altogether, three sons and three daughters;[12] one of the sons had
died early in 1777. His interest in his children no doubt increased
very much after their mother's death. Frequently in the 'Letters
to Temple' after that event (June, 1789) one or other of them is
mentioned, and Boswell shows anxiety both for their present happiness
and for their future welfare. Malone, in answering a detractor of
Boswell's, says:
This writer acknowledges that he was an affectionate father;
he was more; he was extremely liberal and indulgent to his
children, having, for some years past, expended out of his
moderate income, £300 a year to educate his two sons, one at
Eton and the other at Westminster, and one of his daughters
at a boarding-school: to effect which he confined his own
personal expenses within the narrowest bounds.
That Boswell could stint himself in this way for his children shows a
larger degree of self-sacrifice than might be expected from one of his
extravagant tastes. It shows also a development in his character. The
old passion for being conspicuous could now be put aside for the sake
of his children.
Boswell, in fact, became less extravagant and affected towards the end
of life. He was less often carried away by his 'warm imagination.' He
lived less in his 'castles in the air,' and nearer the solid earth.
* * * * *
The next cause of this development is not far to seek. It lies in the
result of the main struggle in Boswell's life. Truth had won the day.
The irrepressible quality of Boswell's genius had triumphed in spite
of his commonplace aims and the conventionality of his beliefs and
standards; and it had found its expression in biography. The nature
of that triumph reacted inevitably upon Boswell. The highest of his
qualifications for writing the 'Life of Johnson' was simply honesty.
He was honest about human nature. He had related without omission and
without perversion the story of a man as he had witnessed it. All his
powers of observing and of judging character had been brought to bear
upon the great work of his life. His own character had developed in
the process. It is impossible for a man to concentrate all his mind
upon the effort to understand the human being, without involving
himself in his investigations; and Boswell was no exception. He
had always been interested in his own character, though in a rather
uncritical fashion; and no doubt, as often happens, his knowledge
of others began with himself. He was himself both the primer of
psychology and the standard for comparison, upon which his whole view
of individuals was based; and it is often clear, when he is discussing
some moral question, that he has his own case in mind. The 'Life of
Johnson' was necessarily concerned with Boswell in some degree; and
so it was that the author, when he came to record his observations
of Johnson and his friends and acquaintances, found that the process
which he applied to others was being applied to himself.
Nothing in Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is more remarkable, as nothing
is more charming, than the author's candour when his own person is
concerned. He does not obtrude himself upon the reader's notice;
he relates the events quite naturally as they occurred. And though
Boswell was not a little vain, he was able to relate what was not
to his credit. Most of the stories of Boswell's folly we know from
himself. He has recorded the sledge-hammer blows of Johnson provoked
by his own absurdity; he has told us of occasions when he lacked
in manners, even when, more than once, he was drunk in a lady's
drawing-room; he has described at length, in the 'Tour to the
Hebrides,' the story of a carouse at Corrichatachin, and has not
failed to mention how very ill he felt next morning, and how much he
dreaded Johnson's rebuke; it is in his own account that we read of
the ridiculous figure he cut in a storm at sea; it is from his own
correspondence with Johnson that we learn of all the weaknesses that
earned the Doctor's reproof.
Boswell was perfectly conscious of his folly when he allowed us to
see the absurdity of his behaviour. He was sometimes conscious, at
the moment, of provoking ridicule. Occasionally, as he takes care to
explain, he deliberately planned his own discomfiture:
Desirous of calling Johnson forth to talk and exercise his
wit, though I should myself be the object of it, I resolutely
ventured....
This was a common attitude. It has been discussed before in these
pages with reference to Boswell's biographical method. Boswell even
mentions once that he spoke 'with an assumed air of ignorance, to
incite him to talk, for which it was often necessary to employ some
address.' He realised well enough that he made the best possible foil
to Johnson. And if he was able to understand his position in these
undignified moments, still more must he have been conscious of it
when he allowed his records to be printed many years afterwards in the
'Life.' He tells us as much himself in the Dedication to Sir Joshua
Reynolds:
In one respect, this Work will, in some passages, be different
from the former. In my 'Tour,' I was almost unboundedly open
in my communications, and from my eagerness to display the
wonderful fertility and readiness of Johnson's wit, freely
shewed to the world its dexterity, even when I was myself the
object of it. I trusted that I should be liberally understood,
as knowing very well what I was about, and by no means as
simply unconscious of the pointed effects of the satire. I
own, indeed, that I was arrogant enough to suppose that the
tenour of the rest of the book would sufficiently guard me
against such a strange imputation. But it seems I judged too
well of the world; for, though I could scarcely believe it, I
have been undoubtedly informed, that many persons, especially
in distant quarters, not penetrating enough into Johnson's
character, so as to understand his mode of treating his
friends, have arraigned my judgement, instead of seeing that I
was sensible of all that they could observe.
It is related of the great Dr. Clarke, that when in one of his
leisure hours he was unbending himself with a few friends in
the most playful and frolicksome manner, he observed Beau Nash
approaching; upon which he suddenly stopped. 'My boys (said
he) let us be grave: here comes a fool.' The world, my friend,
I have found to be a great fool, as to that particular, on
which it has become necessary to speak very plainly. I have,
therefore, in this Work been more reserved; and though I tell
nothing but the truth, I have still kept in my mind that the
whole truth is not always to be exposed. This, however, I have
managed so as to occasion no diminution of the pleasure which
my Book should afford; though malignity may sometimes be
disappointed of its gratifications.
Boswell's statement speaks for itself. He realised as well as anyone
his own vanity and affectation. It had been necessary when
writing Johnson's 'Life' to apply the searching light of truth
indiscriminately. Boswell had not flinched from applying it to
himself: on the contrary it amused him to do so. He enjoyed his own
absurdities as he enjoyed those of Johnson himself and of every other
figure portrayed with good-humoured ridicule in the course of his
great book. Boswell, we may be sure, laughed wherever his readers may
laugh: indeed his readers laugh at all only because he himself laughed
so whole-heartedly.
Assuredly the laughter which comes when the searching light is turned
inwards is not without a lasting effect. The desire for dignity in
some measure is with most men almost an instinct. It is rare for a man
to perceive that he has been ridiculous without a blush, even though
he smile; and the result of such perception is almost invariably
preventive; the absurdity must not be repeated. Boswell was able to
laugh at himself more whole-heartedly than the majority. But the mere
fact of looking inwards with the seeing glance was certain to arrest
him in moments of absurdity; and the necessity, as it appeared to
him, of writing out an account of himself in the most undignified
situations made his realisation more vivid and the inevitable tendency
more sure.
And so, in the end, the truth of Boswell, his innate and unquenchable
candour, not only won a victory, but spoiled the enemy. We may
observe, if we care to, that the natural development has taken place.
Much of the old affectation has disappeared. Boswell, to the last, is
still tempted to give rein to that 'warm imagination'; but now as
a rule the impulse is checked with a smile by a moment of
self-consciousness. The development is clearly to be seen in the
'Letters to Temple,' and one instance will suffice to illustrate
his attitude. Boswell, when telling of his intention of visiting
Auchinleck, for the purpose related before in these pages of choosing
a minister for the parish, cannot refrain from exclaiming in the
old manner, 'Only think, Temple, how serious a duty I am about to
discharge!' But then comes the inward glance and Boswell laughs:
I, James Boswell, Esq.--you know what vanity that name
includes!--I have promised to come down on purpose, and his
Honour's goodness is gratefully acknowledged.
Boswell was not systematic in his self-examination; but he came to
know himself with a truer judgment than most men have where self is
concerned. His principles had been ill carried out; his ideals had not
been comprehensive. He had neglected the personal discipline which we
look to see in men of power and in men who have accomplished important
matters; he had neglected to train his mind to deal with all the
problems of life. His grasp upon the whole scheme of things was
feeble, as his control of himself was limited. And yet this knowledge
of self with the good-humoured laugh--and it was not unaccompanied by
fervent regret for his weakness, and anxious piety--this knowledge,
which is the key to all right knowing, was a fitting achievement for
one whose predominant interest was Human Nature, and whose prevailing
passion was Truth.
[Footnote 1: Boswell's literary executors were Temple, Malone,
and Sir William Forbes. 'The three persons,' says Dr. Rogers,
'nominated as literary executors did not meet, and the entire
business of the trust was administered by Sir William Forbes,
Bart., who appointed as his law-agent Robert Boswell,
Writer to the Signet, cousin-german of the deceased. By that
gentleman's advice Boswell's manuscripts were left to the
disposal of his family, and it is believed that the whole were
immediately destroyed. The Commonplace-book escaped, having
been accidentally sold among the printed books.'
I believe there is still at Auchinleck the manuscript of a
diary and some letters, but I have not been permitted to see
them. Undoubtedly Boswell must have left far more than these.]
[Footnote 2: The quotation is from a letter, quoted before in
these pages, which appeared in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for
June 1795; it is clearly written by one of Boswell's friends,
and the signature 'C.' suggests Courtenay. Dr. Rogers accepts
it as by him.]
[Footnote 3: Quoted in Dr. Rogers's _Memoir_ with reference to
_Traditions of Edinburgh_, 1869, p. 74. I have not verified.]
[Footnote 4: _Records of my Life_, by John Taylor, Esq., 1832,
i, 214.]
[Footnote 5: Nichols' _Literary History_, vii, 303-13.]
[Footnote 6: _Gentleman's Magazine_, June, 1795.]
[Footnote 7: _Life of Reynolds_, ii, 636.]
[Footnote 8: Nichols' _Literary Anecdotes_, iii, 192.]
[Footnote 9: See Nichols' _Literary History_, v, 456-7.]
[Footnote 10: _Letters to Temple_, p. 272.]
[Footnote 11: _James Boswell_, by W. K. Leask, p. 155.]
[Footnote 12: For an account of Boswell's family, see Dr.
Rogers in _Boswelliana_, pp. 192-7.]
INDEX
A
Aberbrothick, 245
Academy, 303
Account of Corsica, 56-64, 114, 178^16, 268, 275, 276, 302, 317
Adam, Mr. R. B., 251^5
Adamtown, 93, 100
Address to the Real Freeholders of the County of Ayr, 177
Akerman, 251
Aldus, 30
America, 181
Arbuthnot, 118
Argyll, Duke of, 35
Aristotle, 157
Ashbourne, 272
Auchinleck, 6, 91, 92, 105, 133, 136, 165, 166, 168, 301^1, 311,
318-9, 325
Auchlinleck, Lord, 7, 8, 9, 76, 83, 162-6, 171, 175, 218
Ayrshire, 176, 177, 318
B
Baden, 50
Bagnal, Miss, 309, 310
Bar, the English, 84, 137, 167-172, 310
----, the Scottish, 80, 82, 84, 85, 105, 133, 162, 164, 166, 168,
171, 174, 186, 203
Barbauld, Mrs., 66
Barclay, Mr., 266
Baretti, 38, 108, 248, 303
Barrington, Mr. Daines, 251
Beattie, Dr., 214
Beauclerk, 86, 106, 107, 108, 262
----, Lady Di, 107, 261
Bedford, Duke of, 74
----, Duchess of, 74
Birrell, Rt. Hon. A., 252^6
Blacklock, Rev. Mr., 19
Blair, Miss, 64, 91-7, 100
Bolingbroke, 118
Bosville, Miss, 91, 95, 98-9
Boswell:
Accent in speaking English, 21;
accuracy, 228, 267-82;
actor, 24;
advertisement, 65, 76, 199;
affectation, 103, 132, 157-8, 184-94, 221, 224, 320-1, 326;
ambition, 12-13, 39, 59, 61-4, 74-6, 80, 160; 166-208 _passim_,
especially 166-8, 170, 174-6; 209, 217, 226, 301, 310, 311;
amours, 14, 88-100;
animosities, 237-8, 241;
artistic qualities, 2, 61-4, 283-4, 287-93;
authenticity, 229, 267, 269-70, 282;
autobiography, 300;
Bachelors, views on, 89;
biography, 1-4, 21, 59-60, 67, 77, 93, 118, 128, 135, 144, 159;
227-99 _passim_,
especially 231, 235-6, 247, 265-6, 267, 284^1; 313-8;
boasting, 204-5;
boyishness--boy longer than others, 16, 163, 208;
buffoonery, 28, 65-6, 199, 246;
Candour, 38-9, 60, 64, 86, 118, 208, 209, 212-13, 302, 303, 322, 325;
castles in the air, 12, 190, 310;
ceremonial, love of, 137, 171;
childhood, 6-9;
cleverness, 18-19, 30;
collection of original poems, B. contributes, 25, 27;
commonplace book, _see_ Boswelliana;
consciousness of absurdity, 321-6;
conspicuousness, 171, 204, 320;
controversy about, 4-5;
conventionality, 136-7, 146-50, 320,
_see also_ respectability;
conventions, disregard of, _see_ rudeness;
cow, B. imitates, 29;
criticism of literature, 109;
curiosity, 72, 129, 131, 173-4, 208, 266;
Death, 300;
dedication, addressed to, 22;
dignity, 62, 97, 121, 265, 305, 324-5;
diligence, _see_ industry;
disappointment, 17, 66, 133, 161, 168, 170, 219, 226, 311-2, 317;
drinking habits, 15, 127, 220, 223-6, 227-8, 311;
Eccentricity, 172;
egoism, 73, 75, 77, 80, 195-6;
essays, 139-44;
executions, present at, 172-4;
experiments, 129;
extravagance:
of disposition, 31, 54, 64, 77, 83, 141, 184-94, 320-1,
_see also_ affectation;
in financial matters, 31, 163-4;
Fame, _see_ reputation;
family, 6, 30, 164, 218, 318-20;
family life, 6-9, 105-6;
father, _see_ Lord Auchinleck;
fidelity, conjugal, 104;
flattery, 45-6, 75;
foolishness, 4-5, 38; 182-208 _passim_,
especially 182, 184, 194, 206, 208; 216, 322;
frankness, _see_ candour;
friends:
as a young man, 10-16, 19-25:
the Johnsonian circle, 106-12:
at the close of life, 305-8;
frolic, 28, 66;
Gaiety, 16, 30-1, 52-4, 78, 138, 224, 304;
generosity, 54, 79-80, 119, 320;
genius, 5-6, 156-7, 210, 217, 224, 241, 247, 320;
good-humour, 16, 47, 78, 86, 108, 119, 126, 138, 142, 304;
good-nature, 22, 24, 79-80, 174, 214-6, 305;
goodness, 144-5;
'great man,' Boswell the, 74, 166, 204, 314;
great men, admiration for and relations with, 50, 54, 55, 57, 67-77;
Happiness, 147;
hermit, taste for being a, 189;
honesty, 157, 200, 321;
human nature, Boswell's interest in, 24, 46, 69-73, 208, 211, 241,
321, 326;
humour, 3, 16, 30, 42, 131, 200-1, 203, 287-91, 308;
hypochondria, _see_ melancholy;
Ignorance of what others thought of him, 182-4, 216;
images, 120, 144, 203;
imagination, 26;
inconstancy, 38, 92;
indiscretion, _see_ candour;
indulgence, 222-6;
industry, 36, 82, 227-9, 247-52;
insanity, 92, 225;
interest in, 3-4;
intolerance, 68, 71;
Johnson, Dr. Samuel:
admiration for, _see_ veneration;
affection for, 48-9, 119, 131, 132, 153, 218-9, 306-8;
conception of, as awful, 293-9;
enjoyment of, 285-7, 291, 324;
experiments with, 110-2, 257-66, 321-3;
friendship with, 40-9, 112-34, 306-8;
humiliated by, _see_ roughness;
imitation of, 109, 144, 191-3;
influenced by, 68, 150-61, 191;
jealousy with regard to, 128;
letters to, 48, 77-8, 79, 114, 115, 124, 188;
letters from, 48, 58, 114, 124, 132, 155-7, 160, 166;
loss by his death, 132-4, 218-9;
quarrels with, 116-23;
questions, 130, 258, 261;
roughness to Boswell, 47, 116, 117, 118, 210-4, 259-66;
talks freely to, 43, 44, 45, 47;
tour in Hebrides with, 125-131, 260;
veneration for, 36, 49, 109, 130, 238-9, 307;
visit to Boswell's home, 7, 260;
jokes, _see_ wit;
journal, 21, 36, 227-8, 261, 268-76;
Landlord, 318-9;
law, 34-6, 76, 79, 80-5, 87, 105, 125, 133, 162, 164, 166-72,
203, 219, 310;
lawyers, relations with, 162, 164, 169-72, 203, 205;
letters:
to Burke, 179-87;
to Chatham, 75-6, 179-82;
to Erskine, 30-3;
to Johnson, _see_ Johnson under Boswell;
Temple, quoted, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 34, 35, 70, 78^6,
82^10, 100-1, 104^15-16, 113, 153, 155, 163, 164, 165,
167^1, 168, 169^2-3, 170, 172, 173, 175, 177^10-12,
178^14-17, 183-4, 185-6, 204, 207, 218, 219^3, 220, 221,
222, 223^6, 226, 230, 231^5-6, 300, 310-12, 320, 325;
literary executors, 300^1;
literature, interest in, 11, 18, 20, 25, 35, 46, 53, 193-4, 230,
312-5;
London:
B. visits, 17, 25, 124, 218;
love of, 34, 69, 105, 167, 168, 218;
Marriage, 88, 89-90, 100-4, 133, 164, 309-10;
meeting with Johnson, 16, 17, 40-4;
melancholy, 30, 124, 132, 138, 140-1, 157, 187, 224-6;
memorandising, 21-2, 246, 266-74;
modesty, 57;
morality, interest in, 9, 46, 159, 188, 206, 233-7;
mother, 6;
Notebook, _see_ memorandising;
Observation, powers of, 183, 217, 242-7, 257-62;
ode to Tragedy, 25, 29, 30;
opinions about himself, 28, 29, 30;
optimism, 142-3, 229-30;
Patron of the drama, 22-3;
patrons, 175-6, 178-84, 200;
philosophy:
affectation of, 13, 17, 32, 75, 94, 173;
views of life, 88, 147-50, 187-8, 285;
pleasure an object of life, 88, 147;
poetry, Boswell's, 25-7, 200-2;
politics, 133, 137, 174-82, 209, 219, 310-11;
popularity, 304-5;
prejudices, 136-7, 153;
pride, 30, 116, 164, 179, 204, 253;
profession chosen, 34-5;
profligacy, 14-15;
prologue, Boswell writes one for Ross, 24;
proof-sheets, 250-1;
property, 136-7, 166, 218;
publications, 25-7, 29-32, 59-66, 81, 82, 133, 176, 209, 310;
Recording:
conversations, 227, 242, 266;
observations, 217;
religion, 9, 22, 36-7, 147-50, 188-9, 206;
reputation, 1, 39, 58, 61, 66, 172, 199, 209, 213-4, 300-4, 314, 317;
respectability, 37-9, 62, 105, 150-61, 166, 209, 236-7;
rivals, 237-8;
romantic, 31, 186;
rudeness, 38, 252-5, 266;
satisfaction with literary work, 229-33, 313-8;
scholar, 189;
school, 10;
scientific spirit, 241, 256-66;
selfish, 15;
self-revelation, 14, 139;
sentimentality, 39, 184-6,
_see also_ affectation;
seriousness, 140-2;
shorthand, 270;
simplicity, 182, 204, 206;
sings:
to Corsican peasants, 52-3:
at mayoralty dinner, 197-9;
songs of his own composition, 204;
snobbishness, 71-7,
_see also_ under Boswell, 'great men';
social qualities, 16, 24, 30-1, 46, 52-4, 86, 108, 126, 206, 304-5,
308;
solemnity, 192;
Tablets, _see_ memorandising;
talks very freely, 43, 44, 64, 204-8;
taste, 22;
tenants, 79, 318-9;
Tory, a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 181;
travels on the Continent, 50-8, 93, 125;
truth, Boswell's attitude towards, 38-9, 118, 210, 216, 228, 233,
236-7, 241, 249, 255, 284-5, 294, 324-6;
Vanity, 38, 73, 77, 103, 194-7, 205, 206, 316, 322, 326;
verse, _see_ poetry;
vows, 99, 223;
Wife, _see_ Mrs. Boswell;
will, 216, 318-9;
wit, 200-3, 308
Boswell, Mrs., 84, 100-4, 219-22, 309
Boswell, Robert, 300^1
'Boswelliana,' 79^7, 190, 200, 203, 214^2, 274-82, 301^1
Boydell, Alderman, 197
British Essays to the Brave Corsicans, 78
Browning, 1
Burke, Edmund, 106, 107, 108, 150, 179-182
Burney, Miss, 21, 108, 128, 130, 191-2, 237, 246-7, 253-4, 255,
263-5, 268^1, 290, 294-5, 298
----, Dr., 130
Burns, 20
Bute, Lord, 248
Byron, 1
C
Cadogan, Lord, 315
Cambridge University, 21
Campbell, Dr. Thomas, 130
---- diary of, 130^7
Carlisle, 170, 175
---- Recorder, 176, 179, 301
Carlyle, 2, 5
Catherine II. of Russia, 251
Charlemont, Lord, 288
Chatham, Earl of, 75-6, 178, 179, 182, 187, 189
Chesterfield, Lord, 248
Church of England, 9
Cicero, 53, 142
Clarke, Dr., 323
'Cocker's Arithmetic,' 245
'Collection of Original Poems,' 19, 27
College upon Roman Antiquities, 35
Commonplace book, Boswell's, _see_ 'Boswelliana'
Corrichatachin, 127, 322
Corsica, 51-60, 65-6, 74-8, 114, 195
Corsican Journal, _see_ account of Corsica
Courtenay, 215, 220, 299, 304^2, 306
Covent Garden, 23
Crichton, the Admirable, 30
Croker, 118
Cromwell, 7
'Cub at Newmarket,' 26, 27
D
Dalrymple, Sir David, 17, 21, 73, 178
D'Arblay, Madame, diary of, _see under_ Miss Burney
Davies, Tom, 40-2, 44, 291-2
Dempster, George, 19, 33, 151, 230, 306
Derrick, 25, 40
Dictionary, Johnson's, 1, 243, 274
'Dictionary of National Biography,' 176^6
Dilly, Charles, 19, 111, 202, 248, 306
Dilly, Edward, 188
Dodd, Dr., 79
Douglas, Mr., 81
Douglas Cause, 81-4
'Dorando: a Spanish Tale,' 82
Drury Lane Theatre, 20, 23, 29
Dunciad, 118
Dundas, 179
Dunn, Mr., 9
E
Edinburgh, 6, 12, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 34, 84, 90, 95, 103, 123
Edinburgh, traditions of, 304^3
Edinburgh University, 10, 12, 17, 20, 35, 89
Eglinton, Earl of, 26, 100, 177, 178, 197
Eldon, Lord Chancellor, 169
'Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady,' 25, 26
England, 85, 87, 106, 210, 220
Epictetus, 188
'Epistle of a London Buck to his Friend,' 27
Erskine, Honourable Andrew, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
Eton, 216, 320
F
Ferney, 50, 54
Fitzgerald's 'Life of Boswell,' 81^9, 82^11, 83^12, 177^9, 199,
200^35, 204^36, 212, 273, 278, 290^4
Flanders, 315
Fleet ditch, 240
Foote, 207
Forbes, Sir William, 214, 275, 300^1, 306
France, 235
Franklin, Dr., 74
Frederick the Great, 54
Froude, 1
G
Garrick, 23, 43, 44, 61, 74, 107, 109, 262
Gay, 118
Gentleman, Francis, 22, 25
'Gentleman's Magazine,' 61^8, 63^10, 178^13, 215, 225^7, 304^2,
306^6, 307
Gibbon, 68
Gilmour, Sir Alexander, 97
Glasgow, 22
---- University, 17, 36
Glenelg, 122
Goldsmith, 106, 108, 179
Goldsmith, Prior's Life of, 195^33, 206^38
Graham, 201
Gray, 4, 11, 12, 94, 109, 302
----, Mason's Life of, 231-2
Greenwich, 268
Guards, 34
H
Hackman, 173
Hailes, Lord, 17, 36, 69, 268
Hamlet, 41
Harris, 35
Harwich, 48
Hawkins, Sir John, 107, 108, 227^1, 237, 290, 302
Hebrides, 172, 211
Henley, W. E., 'Views and Reviews,' 284^3
Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, 58, 250-1, 276, 290, 293
Hodge, 244
Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs of, 252
Home Circuit, 310
Homer, 2
Howard, 98
Hume, David, 18, 35, 53, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 151, 175, 207
Hypochondriack, the [in 'London Magazine'], 124, 137-44, 145-6, 147,
148, 224
I
Inner Temple, 137, 167
Ireland, 22
Ireland, Mr., 193-4
J
James, King, 8
Jockey Club, 26
Johnson, Lionel, 189
Johnson, Samuel:
better known to us than other literary men, 1-2;
interest in, 3-4;
argument with Lord Auchinleck, 7;
retort to Mr. Dunn, 9;
Temple contrasted with, 13;
condemnation of Dempster, 19;
commends Boswell's accent, 21;
opinion of Derrick, 25;
great writer, 36;
becomes friends with Boswell, 40-50;
conversation, 45-7;
liked admiration, 45;
strength of personality, 49;
Frederick the Great and Voltaire, 54;
compared with Paoli, 56-8;
approves Boswell's adventures in Corsica, 58;
opinion of Boswell's account of Corsica, &c., 59;
opinion of Gibbon and condemnation of 'infidelity,' 68 _seq._;
talks of going to Sweden, 71;
dines with Boswell, 74;
writes on behalf of Mr. Dodd, 79;
legal help to Boswell, 83-4;
on Scotchmen, 85-7, on Mrs. Boswell, 100-1;
Mrs. Boswell's opinion of, 102;
the Johnsonian circle, 106 _seq._;
meeting with Wilkes arranged, 110-12;
friendship with Boswell, 112-34;
lack of sympathy and blunt advice, 114;
irritated by Boswell, 115;
quarrels, 116-24;
no venom in his wounds, 120;
very angry, 121;
in the Hebrides, 125 _seq._;
at Streatham, 128;
at Lochbuy, 129;
use of images, 144;
influence on Boswell, 150-61;
conventional prejudices, 153 _seq._;
talks for victory, 121, 153-4;
truth, honesty, 155, 201;
dislikes affectation, 157-8;
a moralist, 159-60;
Lord Auchinleck's opinion of, 165;
on Lord Auchinleck as Boswell's father, 166;
knows nothing of Scotch law, 171;
view of Boswell's attendance at executions, 173;
discourages Boswell's political ambitions, 175;
Boswell's imitation of, 191-2;
'just frown,' 155, 201;
_mot_ about Boswell's boasting, 204;
fear of death, 206;
Gargantua, 207;
records of the tour in the Hebrides, 209-14;
little taste for rural beauties, 210;
interest in human nature, 211;
remarks on his host's avarice, 212-13;
introduced to Temple, 215;
moral support, 222;
melancholy, 225;
faults of the great moralist, 233-4;
love of truth applied to biography, 235-7;
Hawkins' Life, and Mrs. Thrale's Memoirs, 237-8;
Boswell's conception of, 238-40;
description of, 242;
physical characteristics, 244;
his cat, 244-5;
Latin quotations, 245;
presents a Highland lass with 'Cocker's Arithmetic,' 245;
letter to Lord Chesterfield, 248;
his pension, 248-9;
gay Sam, 254, 295;
a great talker, 256;
not expansive, 257;
baited by Boswell, 259;
the subject of Boswell's experiments, 260 _seq._;
questioned by Boswell, 261 _seq._;
helps Boswell in his biographical work, 272;
the Johnsonian æther, 286-7;
the dictator, 288-93;
dancing lessons, 288;
the element of humour, 289;
his humanity and tenderness, 291;
Tom Davies put down, 292;
his 'awfulness,' 293-8;
Miss Burney's account, 294 _seq._;
his gallantry, 294-5;
his rebuke to Hannah More, 295;
his kindness, 295;
the dogmatist, 296;
pompousness and playfulness, 297;
his 'formality,' 298;
public interest in, 302;
his share in Boswell's great work, 315-6;
talked about, 317;
fertility and readiness of his wit, 323;
_See also under_ Boswell.
Johnson, Boswell's Life of:
universality, 2-3;
self-expression in, 14;
'Tour in Corsica' compared with, 59-60;
tells a story of friendship, 113;
attitude towards Johnson involved, 131;
not a complete expression of Boswell's views, 137;
proves Boswell's ability, 138;
an edifying book, 145;
humour, 201;
Malone the first editor, 210^1;
connection of the 'Tour to the Hebrides' with, 217, 227-8;
not the official life, 227^1;
industry of the author, 227-9;
Malone revises, 229-30;
Boswell's conviction that it will be a masterpiece, 229-33;
his conception of, 231-3;
nature of moral purpose in, 233-7;
Boswell's conception of Johnson's character, 238-41;
his qualifications, 242 _seq._;
his care, 247-5;
the proof-sheets, 250-1;
interest in Johnson's talk, 256;
the author's questions and experiments, 258-66;
his note-taking, 266 _seq._,
_see_ Boswell;
compiled from documents not extant, 273;
the process of Johnsonising, 278-82;
artistic nature of the representation, 283-93;
the 'shades' in Johnson's character emphasised, 286;
the comedy scenes, 288-92;
is Boswell's Johnson in any degree his own invention? 293-9;
Boswell's account accepted as the truth, 299;
contains occasional autobiography, 300;
solidifies Boswell's reputation, 303;
Malone prepares the third edition, 307;
Malone's opinion of, 308;
additions and corrections, 313;
its popularity and Boswell's triumph, 314-15;
Dr. Johnson's share, 315-16;
Boswell necessarily appears in, 321-2;
the dedication, 324;
_see also under_ Boswell, biography, &c.
'Journey to the Western Islands,' 87, 236
K
Kames, Lord, 18
Keats, 1
Killaloe, Bishop of, 289
King George III., 177, 182, 196, 255, 295
King of Prussia, 191
L
Langton, 106, 119, 248, 266, 281-2, 293
Leask, W. K., James Boswell, 313^11
Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, Esq.,
30, 31, 32, 33
Letters, Boswell's political, 136-7, 176-7, 195
Letters to Temple, _see under_ Boswell
Lettsom, Dr., 202
Lisburne, 178
Literary Club, 68, 106-7, 133
Literature, _see under_ Boswell
'Lives of the Poets,' 109
Lochbuy, 129, 131, 260
----, Lady, 129
Lockhart, 1
London, 17, 20, 25, 34, 36, 97, 103, 105, 106, 124, 165, 167, 168,
177, 182, 189, 218-19, 229, 306, 307, 318
'London Magazine,' 8, 46^3, 65, 102, 103, 124, 137, 138,
148^2-3, 157
Lonsdale, Lord, 175-6, 179
Loughborough, Lord, 248-9
Love, Mr., 20, 21, 22
Lowe, Mr., 252-3,
M
Macaulay, Lord, 2, 4, 5
----, Mrs., 61, 262
Macdonald, Sir Alexander (afterwards Lord), 212-14, 216
Mallet's 'Elvira,' 33
----, critical strictures on, 33
Malone, Edmund, 47, 48, 107, 171, 210, 215, 220, 225, 229-30, 300^1,
305-8, 313, 320
Mamhead, 10, 215
Marlborough, Duke of, 315
Mason, 11, 231-2
Maxwell, Jeany, 96
Mayo, Dr., 191
McLeod, Colonel, 72
Meadows, Captain, 74
Melancthon, 188
Michael Angelo, 145
Milton, 2, 145
Mitchell, Sir Andrew, 50, 178
Molière, 2
Monboddo, Lord, 261
Monckton, Miss, 201-2, 204
Montaigne, 299
Montgomerie, Miss, 100, 197
Montrose, Lord, 201
More, Hannah, 109, 237, 284, 289, 295
----, Memoirs of, 109,^3
Mounsey, Dr., 291-2
Mountstuart, Lord, 178
Mull, 205
Murphy, 68, 248-9, 302
N
Nash, Beau, 324
Newgate, 174
Newmarket, 26, 27
Nichols, John, 185
----, 'Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth Century,' 178^13, 306^8
----, 'Literary History,' 132^9, 306^5, 307^9
----, 'Literary Illustrations of the XVIIIth Century,' 176^6, 231^7,
284^2
Northern Circuit, 17, 21, 169, 268
Northumberland, Duke of, 292
O
'Ode to Gluttony,' 31
'Ode to Tragedy,' 25, 29, 30
Odyssey, 235, 315
Oglethorpe, General, 74
Othello, 95, 258
P
Paoli, General, 51, 53, 55-60, 67, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76, 197, 189, 215,
267-8, 275, 306
Paris, 53
Parnell, 234
Parr, Dr., 251
Paul, the Apostle, 234
Pembroke, Earl of, 74, 178
Pennant, Mr., 235
Pepys' Diary, 33
Percy, Bishop, 132^9, 175, 176^6, 231-2, 284, 291-2
Piozzi, Mrs., _see_ Mrs. Thrale
Pitt, William (the younger), 183, 196, 197-200
Pocock's Johnsonian Catalogue, 273
Pope, 118
Presbyterian, Boswell's father a, 7
Prince of Wales, 177
Pringle, Sir John, 74
Prussia, 50
Pythagoras, 64
R
Racine, 2
Raleigh, Professor, 5, 40, 86
Rambler, 127, 238, 297, 299
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 106, 108, 116, 118, 119, 173, 216, 220, 249,
259, 291, 299, 306, 323
----, Life of, 73^3, 108^1, 303
Robertson, Dr., 18, 191, 259
Rochefoucauld, 56
Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, 22, 23, 92^14,
176^6, 225^7, 300, 304^2, 319
Roman Catholic, Boswell a, 37
Ross, Mr. David, 23, 24, 25
Rousseau, 19, 50, 51, 69, 93, 151
Rudd, Mrs., 73^3, 173
Russia, 311
S
Sallust, 53
Saxe-Gotha, 50
Schwellenberg, Mrs., 255
Scotland, 24, 30, 42, 78, 85, 87, 105, 106, 111, 127, 165, 167, 168,
169, 209, 210, 235-6
Scott, Sir Walter, 2, 7, 85, 174, 225
Seccombe, Mr., 11, 15, 215
Select Society, 19, 20
Seward, 128
Shakespeare, 2, 65, 193, 195, 297
Shaw, Dr., 251
Shelley, 1
Shenstone's 'Pastoral on Absence,' 32, 33
Sheridan, Mr. Thomas, 248-9, 279
Skye, 122
'Slavery, No Abolition of,' 310
Smith, Adam, 17, 68
Soaping Club, 27, 28
Somerville, Lord, 178
Southern's 'Tragedy of Oroonoco,' 22
Southill, 248
St. Gluvias, 10
Stone, Mr., 251
St. Paul's, 100, 137, 142
Stratford, Shakespeare Jubilee at, 65-6, 204
Streatham, 128, 263
Stuart, Lord Mount, 50
Sweden, 71
Swift, 118, 292
T
Taylor, John, 197-8, 304
----, records of, 198^34, 305^4
----, Tom, 'Life of Reynolds,' 73^3, 108, 303
Temple, William, 10-16, 61, 64, 70, 73, 79, 81, 84, 88, 92, 96, 98,
100, 178, 183, 185-6, 187, 215, 225^7, 300^1, 306, 309-12
----, 'Essay on the Clergy,' 11
Temple, William, Boswell's letters to, _see_ Boswell
Temple Bar, 240
Temple Gate, 240
Templeton, John, 319
Tennyson, 1
Terentia, 53
Thérèse le Vasseur, 53
Thrale, Mrs., 72, 100, 108, 126, 237-8, 259, 266-7, 302
----, Anecdote of Dr. Johnson, 237
----, Autobiography, Letters, &c., 72^2, 258^1, 284^1
----, Johnson's letters to, 126, 176^6
Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181
Tour to the Hebrides, 7, 68, 71^1, 78, 107, 121-3, 125-7, 131, 190,
201, 205, 209-18, 227-8, 230, 234, 245, 257, 269^4,
270^5, 297-9, 302, 303, 307, 314, 322
Tour in Corsica, _see_ account of Corsica
Trelawney, Sir Jonathan, 97
Trevelyan, Sir George, 1
----, 'Life of Fox,' 175^5
Turbulent, Mr., 254
Turks, 311
Twalmley, 205
Tyers, Tom, 257
U
Ulysses, 315
Utrecht, 50, 91, 155
Uxoriana, 102
V
Vestris, 288
Vilette, Rev. Mr., 251
Voltaire, 50, 54, 93, 149
W
Walcot, 216
Walpole, Horace, 61, 109, 302
----, Letters of, 109^2
Warburton, 251
Wedderburne, 248-9
Wellesley, Marquess of, 118
Westminster Hall, 168, 170, 215
Westminster School, 320
Whig, Boswell's father a, 7, 8
----, Boswell becomes a, 9
Whitehead, Mason's Life of, 231
Wilkes, Jack, 19, 50, 55, 69, 70, 110, 112, 117, 250, 282
Williams, Miss, 43
Wordsworth, 1
Wren, Sir Christopher, 142
Y
York, 177
York, Duke of, 26, 27
Young's Night Thoughts, 188
Z
Zelide, 91, 95, 98
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Transcriber's note:
The book contains some foreign words and a few old spellings, e.g.,
'authour', 'tenour', etc., and also instances of hyphenated and
non-hyphenated variants of some words. These have all been retained.
Instances of both 'adhaesit' and 'adhæsit' appear in the text. Both
have been retained.
Punctuation is not always consistent. Some punctuation has been
amended for conformity; sundry missing or damaged punctuation has been
repaired.
Page 28: Extraneous closing quote removed after "alive.'"
"There is no better fellow alive."
Page 56: 'Rochefoucault' is the spelling used by Boswell;
Rochefoucauld appears in the Index. Both have been retained.
Page 65: 'possble' corrected to 'possible'
"... there can be no possible doubt that Boswell wrote it...."
Page 108: 'Boswell:' changed to '_Boswell_:' for consistency.
"... _Boswell_: 'They were afraid of you, Sir, as...."
Page 200: 'compositon' corrected to 'composition'.
"... and he was so vain that he was undoubtedly proud of what
must have been an absurd composition."
Page 336: 'Tory, Boswella corrected to 'Tory, Boswell a'
"Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181"
A few corrections have been made to page numbers in the index, some
numbers (without a reference on the page) removed, and some added:
The corrected number is after the name; The printed number is in
(brackets).
Akerman, ... 251 (250)
Boswell:
law ... (187)(204)
lawyers ... 205 ()
letters:
Temple, quoted ... 70 (69) ... 167^1 () ... (179)
... 185-186 (186)
Eglinton, Earl of ... 197 (196)
Graham, ... 201 (202)
Hypochondriack, ... 145-6 (146)
Samuel Johnson:
talks for victory, ... 121 ()
'just frown', ... 155 ()
gay Sam, ... 254, 295 (246)
Lisburne, ... 178 (179)
Lochbuy, ... 260 (258)
London Magazine, ... (69) (104)
Lowe, ... (255)
Macaulay, ... 2 (1) ... (61)
Macaulay, Mrs., ... 61 ()
Montgomerie, ... 100, 197 (98-9, 100)
More, Hannah, ... 284 (283)
Nichols, John,
----, 'Literary History,' ... 307^9 (308)
Paoli, General, ... 67 (66) 187 ()
Percy, Bishop, ... 284 (283)
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, ... 249 (248) ... 259 (258)
Robertson, Dr., ... 259 (258)
Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, ... (216)
Temple Gate ... 240 (229)
Thrale, Mrs., ... (290), (295), (297)
Turbulent, Mr., ... 254 (253)
Tyers, Tom, ... 257 (256)
Vilette, Rev. Mr., ... 251 (250)