Boswell's Life of Johnson
'The difference with Lord Auchinleck is now over; and since young
Alexander has appeared, I hope no more difficulties will arise among
you; for I sincerely wish you all happy. Do not teach the young ones
to dislike me, as you dislike me yourself; but let me at least have
Veronica's kindness, because she is my acquaintance.
'You will now have Mr. Boswell home; it is well that you have him; he
has led a wild life. I have taken him to Lichfield, and he has followed
Mr. Thrale to Bath. Pray take care of him, and tame him. The only thing
in which I have the honour to agree with you is, in loving him; and
while we are so much of a mind in a matter of so much importance, our
other quarrels will, I hope, produce no great bitterness. I am, Madam,
your most humble servant,
'May 16, 1776.'
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
I select from his private register the following passage:
'July 25, 1776. O God, who hast ordained that whatever is to be desired
should be sought by labour, and who, by thy blessing, bringest honest
labour to good effect, look with mercy upon my studies and endeavours.
Grant me, O LORD, to design only what is lawful and right; and afford me
calmness of mind, and steadiness of purpose, that I may so do thy will
in this short life, as to obtain happiness in the world to come, for the
sake of JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen.'
It appears from a note subjoined, that this was composed when he
'purposed to apply vigorously to study, particularly of the Greek and
Italian tongues.'
Such a purpose, so expressed, at the age of sixty-seven, is admirable
and encouraging; and it must impress all the thinking part of my readers
with a consolatory confidence in habitual devotion, when they see a man
of such enlarged intellectual powers as Johnson, thus in the genuine
earnestness of secrecy, imploring the aid of that Supreme Being, 'from
whom cometh down every good and every perfect gift.'
1777: AETAT. 68.]--In 1777, it appears from his Prayers and Meditations,
that Johnson suffered much from a state of mind 'unsettled and
perplexed,' and from that constitutional gloom, which, together with his
extreme humility and anxiety with regard to his religious state, made
him contemplate himself through too dark and unfavourable a medium. It
may be said of him, that he 'saw GOD in clouds.' Certain we may be of
his injustice to himself in the following lamentable paragraph, which it
is painful to think came from the contrite heart of this great man,
to whose labours the world is so much indebted: 'When I survey my past
life, I discover nothing but a barren waste of time with some disorders
of body, and disturbances of the mind, very near to madness, which I
hope He that made me will suffer to extenuate many faults, and excuse
many deficiencies.' But we find his devotions in this year eminently
fervent; and we are comforted by observing intervals of quiet,
composure, and gladness.
On Easter-day we find the following emphatick prayer:
'Almighty and most merciful Father, who seest all our miseries, and
knowest all our necessities, look down upon me, and pity me. Defend me
from the violent incursion [incursions] of evil thoughts, and enable me
to form and keep such resolutions as may conduce to the discharge of
the duties which thy providence shall appoint me; and so help me, by thy
Holy Spirit, that my heart may surely there be fixed, where true joys
are to be found, and that I may serve thee with pure affection and a
cheerful mind. Have mercy upon me, O GOD, have mercy upon me; years and
infirmities oppress me, terrour and anxiety beset me. Have mercy
upon me, my Creator and my Judge. [In all dangers protect me.] In all
perplexities relieve and free me; and so help me by thy Holy Spirit,
that I may now so commemorate the death of thy Son our Saviour JESUS
CHRIST, as that when this short and painful life shall have an end, I
may, for his sake, be received to everlasting happiness. Amen.'
'SIR ALEXANDER DICK TO DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.
'Prestonfield, Feb. 17, 1777.
'SIR, I had yesterday the honour of receiving your book of your Journey
to the Western Islands of Scotland, which you was so good as to send me,
by the hands of our mutual friend, Mr. Boswell, of Auchinleck; for which
I return you my most hearty thanks; and after carefully reading it over
again, shall deposit in my little collection of choice books, next our
worthy friend's Journey to Corsica. As there are many things to admire
in both performances, I have often wished that no Travels or Journeys
should be published but those undertaken by persons of integrity and
capacity to judge well, and describe faithfully, and in good language,
the situation, condition, and manners of the countries past through.
Indeed our country of Scotland, in spite of the union of the crowns,
is still in most places so devoid of clothing, or cover from hedges and
plantations, that it was well you gave your readers a sound Monitoire
with respect to that circumstance. The truths you have told, and the
purity of the language in which they are expressed, as your Journey is
universally read, may, and already appear to have a very good effect.
For a man of my acquaintance, who has the largest nursery for trees and
hedges in this country, tells me, that of late the demand upon him for
these articles is doubled, and sometimes tripled. I have, therefore,
listed Dr. Samuel Johnson in some of my memorandums of the principal
planters and favourers of the enclosures, under a name which I took the
liberty to invent from the Greek, Papadendrion. Lord Auchinleck and some
few more are of the list. I am told that one gentleman in the shire of
Aberdeen, viz. Sir Archibald Grant, has planted above fifty millions of
trees on a piece of very wild ground at Monimusk: I must enquire if he
has fenced them well, before he enters my list; for, that is the soul
of enclosing. I began myself to plant a little, our ground being too
valuable for much, and that is now fifty years ago; and the trees, now
in my seventy-fourth year, I look up to with reverence, and shew them to
my eldest son now in his fifteenth year, and they are full the height
of my country-house here, where I had the pleasure of receiving you,
and hope again to have that satisfaction with our mutual friend, Mr.
Boswell. I shall always continue, with the truest esteem, dear Doctor,
your much obliged, and obedient humble servant,
'ALEXANDER DICK.'
'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.
'DEAR SIR,--It is so long since I heard any thing from you, that I am
not easy about it; write something to me next post. When you sent your
last letter, every thing seemed to be mending; I hope nothing has lately
grown worse. I suppose young Alexander continues to thrive, and Veronica
is now very pretty company. I do not suppose the lady is yet reconciled
to me, yet let her know that I love her very well, and value her very
much. . . .
'Poor Beauclerk still continues very ill. Langton lives on as he used
to do. His children are very pretty, and, I think, his lady loses her
Scotch. Paoli I never see.
'I have been so distressed by difficulty of breathing, that I lost, as
was computed, six-and-thirty ounces of blood in a few days. I am better,
but not well. . . .
'Mrs. Williams sends her compliments, and promises that when you come
hither, she will accommodate you as well as ever she can in the old
room. She wishes to know whether you sent her book to Sir Alexander
Gordon.
'My dear Boswell, do not neglect to write to me; for your kindness is
one of the pleasures of my life, which I should be sorry to lose. I am,
Sir, your humble servant,
'February 18, 1777.'
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'To DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.
'Glasgow, April 24, 1777.
'MY DEAR SIR, . . . My wife has made marmalade of oranges for you.
I left her and my daughters and Alexander all well yesterday. I have
taught Veronica to speak of you thus;--Dr. JohnSON, not JohnSTON. I
remain, my dear Sir, your most affectionate, and obliged humble servant,
'JAMES BOSWELL.'
'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.
'DEAR SIR, . . . Tell Mrs. Boswell that I shall taste her marmalade
cautiously at first. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. Beware, says the
Italian proverb, of a reconciled enemy. But when I find it does me no
harm, I shall then receive it and be thankful for it, as a pledge of
firm, and, I hope, of unalterable kindness. She is, after all, a dear,
dear lady. . . .
'I am, dear Sir, your most affectionate humble servant,
'May 3, 1777.'
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.
'Southill, Sept. 26, 1777.
'DEAR SIR, You will find by this letter, that I am still in the same
calm retreat, from the noise and bustle of London, as when I wrote to
you last. I am happy to find you had such an agreeable meeting with your
old friend Dr. Johnson; I have no doubt your stock is much increased by
the interview; few men, nay I may say, scarcely any man, has got that
fund of knowledge and entertainment as Dr. Johnson in conversation. When
he opens freely, every one is attentive to what he says, and cannot fail
of improvement as well as pleasure.
'The edition of The Poets, now printing, will do honour to the English
press; and a concise account of the life of each authour, by Dr.
Johnson, will be a very valuable addition, and stamp the reputation of
this edition superiour to any thing that is gone before. The first cause
that gave rise to this undertaking, I believe, was owing to the little
trifling edition of The Poets, printing by the Martins, at Edinburgh,
and to be sold by Bell, in London. Upon examining the volumes which were
printed, the type was found so extremely small, that many persons
could not read them; not only this inconvenience attended it, but the
inaccuracy of the press was very conspicuous. These reasons, as well as
the idea of an invasion of what we call our Literary Property, induced
the London Booksellers to print an elegant and accurate edition of all
the English Poets of reputation, from Chaucer to the present time.
'Accordingly a select number of the most respectable booksellers met
on the occasion; and, on consulting together, agreed, that all the
proprietors of copy-right in the various Poets should be summoned
together; and when their opinions were given, to proceed immediately on
the business. Accordingly a meeting was held, consisting of about forty
of the most respectable booksellers of London, when it was agreed
that an elegant and uniform edition of The English Poets should be
immediately printed, with a concise account of the life of each authour,
by Dr. Samuel Johnson; and that three persons should be deputed to
wait upon Dr. Johnson, to solicit him to undertake the Lives, viz., T.
Davies, Strahan, and Cadell. The Doctor very politely undertook it, and
seemed exceedingly pleased with the proposal. As to the terms, it was
left entirely to the Doctor to name his own: he mentioned two hundred
guineas:* it was immediately agreed to; and a farther compliment, I
believe, will be made him. A committee was likewise appointed to engage
the best engravers, viz., Bartolozzi, Sherwin, Hall, etc. Likewise
another committee for giving directions about the paper, printing, etc.,
so that the whole will be conducted with spirit, and in the best manner,
with respect to authourship, editorship, engravings, etc., etc. My
brother will give you a list of the Poets we mean to give, many of which
are within the time of the Act of Queen Anne, which Martin and Bell
cannot give, as they have no property in them; the proprietors are
almost all the booksellers in London, of consequence. I am, dear Sir,
ever your's,
'EDWARD DILLY.'
* Johnson's moderation in demanding so small a sum is
extraordinary. Had he asked one thousand, or even fifteen