health and spirits, have some furniture put into my chambers in the
Temple, and force myself to sit there some hours a day, and to attend
regularly in Westminster Hall. The chambers cost me £20 yearly, and I
may reckon furniture and a lad to attend them occasionally £20 more. I
doubt whether I shall get fees equal to the expense.”
On the 19th April, Boswell thus wrote to his friend Mr. Dempster:—
“We must not entirely lose sight of one another, or rather, we must
not suffer ‘out of sight out of mind’ to be applicable to two such
old friends, who have always lived pleasantly together, though
of principles directly opposite.... I some time ago resigned my
Recordership of Carlisle. I perceived that no advantage would accrue
from it. I could satisfy you in _conversation_ that I was right. The
melancholy event of losing my valuable wife will, I fear, never allow
me to have real comfort. You cannot imagine how it hangs upon my
spirits; yet I can talk and write, and, in short, _force myself_ to
a wonderful degree. I enclose you a poem which I have published upon
a subject on which I never heard your sentiments, but I could lay
my life you are one of the pretty theorists; however, you will have
candour enough to allow that I have _worked_ well. I have a good house
in Great Portland Street. My two eldest daughters live with me; my
youngest is at a boarding-school at Chelsea; my eldest son is at Eton;
my second at Westminster. I am sadly straitened in my circumstances; I
can but _exist_ as to _expense_; but they are so good to me here that
I have a full share of the metropolitan advantages.
“My _magnum opus_, the ‘Life of Dr. Johnson,’ in two volumes, quarto,
is to be published on Monday, 16th May. It is too great a book to be
given in presents, as I gave my ‘Tour,’ so you must not expect one,
though you yourself form a part of its multifarious contents. I really
think it will be the most entertaining collection that has appeared
in this age. When it is fairly launched, I mean to stick close to
Westminster Hall, and it will be truly kind if you recommend me
appeals or causes of any sort.”
Boswell’s poem on the Slave-trade, to which he refers, was either at
once withdrawn from circulation, or was, on his decease, suppressed by
his family. It is unknown to bibliographers. The “Life of Johnson,”
in two quarto volumes, was issued about the middle of May from the
publishing house of Mr. Charles Dilly. The title-page, which the author
had laboured to render attractive, was thus inscribed:—
“The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., comprehending an Account of his
Studies and numerous Works, in chronological order; a series of
his Epistolary Correspondence and Conversations with many eminent
persons; and various Original Pieces of his composition, never before
published. The whole exhibiting a view of literature and literary
men in Great Britain, for more than half a century, during which he
flourished, in two volumes, by James Boswell, Esq. 2 vols., 4to.
London: Printed by Thomas Baldwin for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry,
1791.”
The following passages from the Dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds are
characteristic of the writer:—
“If there be a pleasure in celebrating the distinguished merit of a
contemporary mixed with a certain degree of vanity not altogether
inexcusable in appearing fully sensible of it, where can I find one
in complimenting whom I can with more general approbation gratify
those feelings.” Referring to his Tour to the Hebrides, the author
proceeds: “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 showed 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 tenor 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 judgment 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.”
In this manner Boswell disposes of Dr. Wolcott and the other satirists
who had made merry at his “Tour.” Though published at the price of
two guineas, the success of the “Life” was immediate. It was eagerly
sought after, and everywhere read. Even those who were indifferent
about Johnson, and who despised his biographer, added the work to their
library, and were amused by its _chit chat_.[98] Writing to Mr. Temple
on the 22nd August, Boswell reported that twelve hundred copies were
in circulation, and that he expected that the entire impression of
seventeen hundred copies would be sold before Christmas. By the success
of his work he was induced to cherish renovated hope; he again dreamed
of professional employment. In his letter to Mr. Temple of the 22nd
August he writes:—
“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.”
On the 22nd November he informed Mr. Temple that he kept chambers open
in the Temple; and attended in Westminster Hall; but had not the least
prospect of business.
After attending Westminster Hall for two years Boswell was employed in
a case of appeal to the House of Peers. He had no other brief. In the
autumn of 1791 he resided several weeks at Auchinleck. Returning to
London in November he thus reported himself to his friend at Mamhead:—
“I had a very unhappy time in Ayrshire. My house at Auchinleck seemed
deserted and melancholy; and it brought upon my mind, with unusual
force, the recollection of my having lost my dear and valuable wife.
My London spirits were soon exhausted; I sank into languor and gloom;
I found myself very unfit to transact business with my tenants, or,
indeed, with anybody. To escape from what I felt at Auchinleck I
visited a good deal, but alas! I could not escape from myself: in
short, you may see that I was exceedingly ill. I hoped to be restored
when I got to London, but my depression of spirits has continued,
and still, though I go into jovial scenes, I feel no pleasure in
existence, except the mere gratification of the senses. Oh, my
friend, this is sad. I have imagined that I was quite unable to write
a letter.... My spirits have been still more sunk by seeing Sir Joshua
Reynolds almost as low as myself. He has for more than two months past
had a pain in his blind eye, the effect of which has been to occasion
a weakness in the other, and he broods over the dismal apprehension
of becoming quite blind.... I force myself to be a great deal with
him, to do what is in my power to amuse him.... This is a desponding,
querulous letter, which I have wished these several weeks to write.
Pray try to do me some good.”
Boswell’s correspondence with Mr. Temple in 1792 has, one short note
excepted, not been preserved. It is probable that most of his spare
hours were devoted to the revision of his “Life of Johnson,” of which
the second edition appeared in the following year.
In October, 1792, the parish of Auchinleck became vacant by the death
of Mr. Dun. Though upholding as part of his _patriotic_ creed, that
with negroes abroad the unlanded population at home should be denied
political or other privileges, Boswell was not unwilling to obtain
acceptance with the common people. As patron of Auchinleck parish he
assured the parishioners that he would consult their wishes in planting
the vacant cure. On this subject he thus communicated with Mr. Temple
on the 26th February, 1793:—
“I am within a few hours of setting out for Auchinleck, honest David
having secured me a place in the Carlisle coach to Ferry Bridge that
I may have an opportunity to stop should I be too much fatigued. It
is quite right that I should now go down. The choice of a minister to
a worthy parish is a matter of very great importance, and I cannot
be sure of the real wishes of the people without being present.
Only think, Temple, how serious a duty I am about to discharge! 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. Besides, I have several matters of
consequence to my estate to adjust; and though the journey will no
doubt be uncomfortable, 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. I shall write to you, my
friend, from my seat. I am to be there only about three weeks.”
Soon after his arrival in Ayrshire, Boswell presented to the vacant
living Mr. John Lindsay, a probationer from Edinburgh. The appointment
was not distasteful to the parishioners. Returning to the metropolis he
issued, in July, the second edition of his “Life of Johnson,” in three
octavo volumes; it contained “eight sheets of additional matter,” and
was improved otherwise. In the _Advertisement_ he wrote as follows:—
“It seems to me in my moments of self-complacency, that this extensive
biographical work, however inferior in the nature, may in one respect
be assimilated to the ‘Odyssey.’ Amidst a thousand entertaining and
instructive episodes, the hero is never long out of sight, for they
are all in some degree connected with him; and he, in the whole course
of the history, is exhibited by the author for the best advantage of
his readers:
‘Quid virtus et quid sapientia possit,
Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulyssem.’
Should there be any cold-blooded or 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 reconnoitring
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 an 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.’”
“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 expression 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 leave under their
hands to be reposited in my archives at Auchinleck. An honourable and
reverend friend, speaking of the favourable reception of my volume,
even in the circles of fashion and elegance, said to me, ‘You have
made them all talk Johnson.’ Yes, I may add, I have _Johnsonized_ the
land; and I trust they will not only talk, but think Johnson.”
No sooner was the second edition of his work on the publisher’s
shelves than Boswell was again involved in the meshes of dissipation.
Sauntering forth, quite drunk, he was knocked down and robbed. Some
weeks after the event he communicated with Mr. Temple as follows:—
“Behold my hand! The robbery is only of a few shillings, but the cut
on my head and bruises on my arms were sad things, and confined me
to my bed in pain and fever and helplessness, as a child many days.
By means of surgeon Earle and apothecary Devaynes, I am now, I thank
God, pretty well. This, however, shall be a crisis in my life. I trust
I shall henceforth be a sober, regular man. Indeed, my indulgence in
wine has, of late years especially, been excessive. You remember what
Lord Eliot said, nay, what you, I am sorry to think, have seen. Your
suggestion as to my being carried off in a state of intoxication is
awful. I thank you for it, my dear friend. It impressed me much, I
assure you.”
In a letter to Mr. Temple, dated 31st May, 1794, Boswell again
expresses his appreciation of his friend’s remonstrances:—
“I thank you sincerely for your friendly admonition on my frailty in
indulging so much in wine. I do resolve anew to be upon my guard, as I
am sensible how very pernicious as well as disreputable such a habit
is. How miserably have I yielded to it in various years. Recollect
what General Paoli said to you—recollect what happened to Berwick.”
A constitution naturally robust had been severely taxed. Boswell
imbibed liquor of all sorts, and like other dissipated persons, fell
into bouts of drinking. When he partially abstained, he unconsciously
prepared himself for inebriate practices of a more aggravated
character. At length he became a victim to these social excesses. Early
in the spring of 1795, Mr. Temple, junior, then an inmate of Boswell’s
house, wrote to his father: “A few nights ago Mr. Boswell returned
from the Literary Club quite weak and languid.” Such is our first
intimation of an illness, which terminated fatally. About the beginning
of April he commenced a letter to Mr. Temple in these words:—“My dear
Temple,—I would fain write to you in my own hand, but really cannot.”
Boswell dropped the pen, which was taken up by his son James, who thus
wrote to his dictation:—
“Alas, my friend, what a state is this! My son James is to write for
me what remains of this letter, and I am to dictate. The pain which
continued for so many weeks was very severe indeed, and when it went
off I thought myself quite well; but I soon felt a conviction that I
was by no means as I should be—so exceedingly weak, as my miserable
attempt to write to you affords a full proof. All, then, that can be
said is, that I must wait with patience.”
After referring to Mr. Temple’s own indisposition, Boswell concludes by
representing himself as “a good deal stronger,” and subscribing himself
“here and hereafter” his correspondent’s “affectionate friend.” A
postscript, added by James Boswell, jun., informed Mr. Temple that his
father was ignorant of his “dangerous situation.” The letter was kept
up, and another addition, dated 8th April, represented the patient as
“in a state of extraordinary pain and weakness,” but as “having a good
deal recovered.”
The improvement was temporary. After a few days Boswell suffered a
relapse. On the 17th April, his younger son wrote to Mr. Temple as
follows:—
“My father desires me to tell you that on Tuesday evening he was
taken ill with a fever, attended with a severe shivering and violent
headache, disorder in his stomach and throwing up; he has been close
confined to bed ever since. He thinks himself better to-day, but
cannot conjecture when he shall recover. His affection for you remains
the same. You will receive a long and full letter from him.”
On the 4th of May, David Boswell communicated to Mr. Temple that his
brother was in “the most imminent danger.” On the 18th of the same
month, James Boswell, jun., reported that his father was “considerably
worse,” and that there were “little or no hopes of his recovery.” Next
day David Boswell reported to Mr. Temple that the end had come:—
“I have now,” he writes, “the painful task of informing you that my
dear brother expired this morning at two o’clock: we have both lost a
kind and affectionate friend, and I shall never have such another. He
has suffered a great deal during his illness, which has lasted five
weeks, but not much in his last moments.”
Boswell died in his house in Great Portland Street, on the 19th May,
1795. He had reached his fifty-fifth year. In the June number of the
_Gentleman’s Magazine_ his friends, Messrs. Courtenay and Malone,
presented estimates of his character. Mr. Courtenay wrote thus:—
“Good nature was highly predominant in his character. He appeared
to entertain sentiments of benevolence to all mankind, and it does
not seem to me that he ever did or could injure any human being
_intentionally_. His conversational talents were always pleasing and
often fascinating. He was a Johnson in everything but _manner_; and
there were few of Dr. Johnson’s friends that were not very ready to
dispense with _that_. His attachment to the Doctor for so long a
period was a meritorious perseverance in the desire of knowledge.”
Admitting that his social habits had shortened his life, Mr. Courtenay
adds,—“As his belief in Revelation was unshaken, and his religious
impressions were deep and recurring frequently, let us hope that he
has now attained that state from which imperfection and calamity are
alike excluded.”
From the misrepresentations of a journalist Mr. Malone vindicated the
memory of his friend in these words:—
“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.” After claiming for Boswell “considerable
intellectual powers,” he concludes,—“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 by the present vindicator of his fame.”
In the same number of the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, a correspondent,
subscribing himself “M. Green,” states that Boswell contemplated the
publication of a quarto volume, to be embellished with plates on the
controversy occasioned by the _Beggar’s Opera_. “With this particular
view,” he adds, “he lately paid several visits to the present truly
humane ‘governor of Newgate,’ as he ordinarily styled Mr. Kirby.”
In a subsequent number of the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, Mr. Temple,
under the signature of “Biographicus,” denied a statement by Mr. Malone
that Boswell was of a melancholy temperament; he maintained that he
was quite otherwise prior to his attachment to Dr. Johnson. J. B.
R., another writer in the same magazine, remarked that the deceased
“had many failings and many virtues and many amiable qualities, which
predominated over the frailties incident to human nature.”
Boswell’s Will, written with his own hand, and bearing date 28th May,
1785, was found in his repositories. It is now printed for the first
time.[99] Had it earlier been made public the testator might have
encountered “less obloquy,” and obtained greater praise. Seldom has
Scottish landlord evinced greater consideration for his tenantry and
domestics. The document is as follows:—