BOSWELL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
 
 WORKS ON 
 DR. JOHNSON & BOSWELL 
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 I. THE LIFE OF DR. JOHNSON. 
 
 A reprint of the First Edition, with the later 
 alterations suppHed. (There have been 
 three issues of this Edition.) In three vols. 
 
 II. THE LIFE OF JAMES BOSWELL. 
 
 With original Letters and Papers. In two 
 vols. 
 
 III. BOSWELL AND CROKER'S BOS- 
 
 WELL. A Review of Mr. Croker's Edition. 
 
 IV. A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF 
 DR. BIRKBECK HILL'S JOHNSONIAN 
 EDITIONS. 
 
 V. BOSWELL'S LIFE OF JOHNSON. 
 Popular Edition. With new Notes, etc. In 
 one vol.
 
 .TA.MKS li<l>WKI,I>. 
 
 Kro II ilie S a'l • *<y \'(;rr\- Fir/tfcral'l in Lichfield Market-place.
 
 BOSWELL'S 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 •By 
 
 PERCY FITZGERALD, M.A., F.S.A. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "the LIFE OF JAMES BOSWELL," ETC. 
 
 w 
 
 LONDON : CHATTO cf WINDUS 
 MDCCCCXII 
 
 (\\7-
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The origin of this somewhat elaborate treatise is 
 to be found in an article of mine that appeared in 
 a recent number of the Qiiarterlij Review^ in which 
 the topics here more fully dealt with were briefly 
 shadowed forth. The theory is a novel one, and 
 many may think it far-fetched or fantastic ; but it 
 was long ago hinted at by Sir Walter Scott and 
 Mr. Croker, no mean authorities. One thing, 
 indeed, I look back upon with regret and some 
 pain — that I was compelled by the argument 
 to say harsh and perhaps ill-natured things of 
 the worthy and ever-entertaining Bozzy, whose 
 champion and commentator I have been from my 
 earliest youth ; for no one has been so devoted an 
 admirer as I have been. But it was absolutely 
 necessary, in order to make out the case, that his 
 exuberance, lack of restraint and of decent conduct, 
 should be set forth in plain terms — which, being 
 related by himself, thus show his purpose, at all 
 hazards, of claiming the first place in his chronicle. 
 The objection, I know, will be made that this 
 "jaundiced " view is inconsistent with the devoted
 
 vi rilKlWCK 
 
 allcc'tioii. the almost idolatry for the Sa<»'e, M'ith 
 which his work teems. These expressions, how- 
 ever, were portions of his daily record written down 
 at the moment; and when he came to arrange his 
 materials for publication he merely allow^ed them 
 to stand as representing a contemporaneous esti- 
 mate — though, as I have clearly shown, these 
 feelings of love and admiration had then much 
 cooled, and had given place to actual resentment. 
 
 The " motor forces " so often alluded to betoken 
 the various forms of exuberance which exerted a 
 sort of pressure on Boswell's ebullient disposition. 
 He thus brought all his varied powers to the 
 enforcement of his one great aim and end — viz., 
 the assertion of his supremacy. 
 
 The list of the author's writings show^s that 
 he at least deserves the credit of industry in his 
 Johnsonian studies, which have been pursued for 
 a period of at least fifty years. So 1 hope I 
 may claim some credit for these contributions to 
 what the great Sage has called " the public stock 
 of harmless pleasure," without being thought boast- 
 ful or egotistic. 
 
 The six " caricatures " — a selection from about 
 a dozen others equally ludicrous — will be found 
 interesting, as well as a novelty, and show the 
 coarse, unsparing ridicule with which Boswell and 
 his Tour were pursued. They have alw^ays been 
 ascribed to Rowlandson, and are somewhat in
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 his manner ; but Henry Angelo in his Memoirs 
 declares that they were the work of another. 
 My friend Sir Sidney Colvin, however, who is a 
 museum of learning in such matters, has been good 
 enough to give me his opinion on the point. He 
 says that these plates were designed by Samuel 
 Collings, but that their execution or etching was the 
 work of Rowlandson. He tells me also that they 
 were issued in a volume containing a large number 
 of others, with the title " Picturesque Beauties of 
 Boswell" — altogether a truly mortifying bit of 
 ridicule. 
 
 It will be said, Why give such profuse quota- 
 tions from a book that is in everybody's hand, and 
 that so many know almost by heart ? Because I 
 think it will conduce to a better knowledge of this 
 wonderful chronicle if the details of its merit are 
 pointed out ; and of the latent humour, powers of 
 description, expressions of feeling — in short, 
 
 "All thoughts, all passions, all delights, 
 Whatever stirs this mortal frame," 
 
 which from familiarity would escape notice — should 
 be emphasized. From familiarity, and a wish to 
 follow the strict narrative, we are apt to pass such 
 things by. The incomparable Jane Austen is read 
 again and again by her admirers, but few of them 
 suspect what a storehouse of genuine wit, latent 
 suggestions, and sagacious touches of character 
 are there enshrined. So, too, scarcely any would
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 suspect tliat in the Life of .lohnson is found one 
 sintrle saying which embodies the whole principle 
 and philosophy of acting. 
 
 Again, it was only by multiplied instances that 
 I could hope to prove the truth of the theory I 
 was advocating. Boswell's self-advertisement, to 
 the exclusion of all competitors, would show clearly 
 that he was intended for the central figure. And, 
 finally, it is a welcome thing to find our favourite 
 passages thus exhibited in the form of detached 
 *' scenes," with much of the connecting verbiage 
 omitted. 
 
 Two illustrations are given at the beginning of 
 the volume, representing statues of Johnson and 
 his follower, recently set up in London and Lich- 
 field respectively. I hope I may be pardoned for 
 saying that it is a unique thing that these works 
 should have been fashioned by the same hand that 
 A^Tote this book and other Johnsonian lives and 
 commentaries.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. boswell's character analyzed 1 
 
 II, FIRST MOTOR FORCE STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 41 
 
 III. SECOND MOTOR FORCE LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 62 
 
 IV. THIRD MOTOR FORCE ANIMOSITIES 79 
 
 V. FOURTH MOTOR FORCE WEIN UND WEIB 168 
 
 VI. FIFTH MOTOR FORCE HUMOUR 175 
 
 VII. SIXTH MOTOR FORCE " REPORTING " 212 
 
 VIII. SEVENTH MOTOR FORCE FINAL QUARREL 236 
 
 IX. EIGHTH MOTOR FORCE — JOHNSON ASSAILED 264 
 
 X. l'envoi 279 
 
 IX
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 JAMES BOSWELL Frontispiece 
 DR. JOHNSON To face page 1 
 
 THE JOURNALIST, WITH A VIEW OF AUCHINLECK 52 
 
 A BREAKFAST CONVERSATION 96 
 
 SETTING OUT FROM EDINBURGH 100 
 
 WALKING UP THE HIGH STREET, EDINBURGH 126 
 
 TEA 158 
 
 WIT AND WISDOM 200 
 
 XI
 
 DOCTOR JOHNSON. 
 
 From the Statue by Percy Fitzgerald in St. Clement Danes Cliurchyaril.
 
 BOSWELL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 boswell's character analyzed 
 
 Mr. Croker, the first and the most useful of 
 Boswell's commentators, once let fall a pregnant 
 hint as to what might be done in a novel direction. 
 Johnson's talk and Boswell's talk, Johnson's life 
 and doings, with Boswell's obsequious attendance, 
 had long engrossed attention. Could it be, he 
 asked, that, after all, we had before us a disguised 
 life of Boswell himself ? His character was a 
 strange one, not without artfulness. He was an 
 adept at " laying traps." He was full of a ludicrous 
 vanity, which led him into sad exhibitions, of 
 the absurdity of which he was quite unconscious. 
 With all due regard for his genuine attachment 
 to the great Doctor, there can be little doubt that 
 his vanity, with the pride of being talked of and 
 pointed out as the follower of so great a being, was 
 mainly accountable for his steady twenty years' 
 attendance and drudgery. With a consciousness 
 that his friends were laughing at him, he felt all 
 
 1
 
 2 lU)S\VKI.i;s CIIAKAC'ri:!! \N.\LV/i:i) [(II. I. 
 
 the time that he was really Aviser than they — and 
 lonijecl to earn the reputation of a solid, capable 
 man, full of a prodigious faith and constaney, which 
 M as more than justified by the event. He would 
 take care that the world should do him justice. 
 
 Was not this an extraordinarily clever and original 
 scheme, carefully planned ? Round Johnson were 
 gi'ouped all the distinguished literary and political 
 men of the day. Bozzy managed to become known, 
 not merely as the intimate of a great man, but as 
 occupying the exceptional office of personal atten- 
 dant, without whom the Doctor would not present 
 himself ; much as a Bishop takes his chaplain, or 
 a Minister his secretary. This gave him a fixed 
 public position. The Tour, we may be convinced, 
 was intended as a regular public advertisement, 
 which was to herald Mr. Boswell and his friend 
 all over the kingdom — and so it did, and so it 
 does still. 
 
 So cleverly and so perseveringly has he carried 
 out his system that it is impossible to lay down 
 the volumes without the conviction that there has 
 been with us a very interesting, capable man — one 
 of great ability and general attraction, quite fitted 
 to hold his own with the eminent man he describes. 
 And what more particularly fortifies the theory is 
 that the " Life of Johnson " is, for three-quarters 
 of its extent, made up of minutely reported con- 
 versations, which, after all, are mere illustrations of
 
 CH. T.] BOSWELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 3 
 
 character, not incidents. The remaining fourth 
 was compiled from the many short Lives that 
 had already appeared. These additional matters 
 Boswell furnishes in a rather dry, austere fashion ; 
 but when he himself comes on the stage, all is 
 vivacity and colour. He moves to and fro with 
 spirit and animation. The contrast is extraordinary 
 between the cold, laboured periods of the official 
 record and the gay, rattling business that sets in 
 when the chief actors enter on the scene. 
 
 And let any skilled reader ask himself the simple 
 question : Could not a full and satisfactory account 
 of the details of Boswell's life, his proceedings, 
 character, tastes, and follies, be supplied from 
 the Life ? There can be no doubt as to the 
 answer. Even where there is no direct statement, 
 or where the matter is slurred over, we can infer 
 the truth from innumerable passages. If such is 
 the case, it is a fair presumption that our author 
 intended to furnish a complete and favourable 
 account of himself. It is hardly an exaggeration to 
 say that he has told as much of himself as he has of 
 his friend, if not more. We learn all about his 
 ancient family and its long descent — his father, 
 wife, children, brothers, cousins ; how he came to 
 choose a profession and change it ; his travels ; 
 his religion ; his feelings, sufferings, weaknesses, 
 absurdities — all these topics being introduced, in an 
 easy, natural way, into talks with his friend. For,
 
 4 iu)s\vi:i,i;s cnAKAc'ri^u analyzed [en. t. 
 
 it' the great man were interested, so nii^ht be the 
 reader. He tells us of every distinguished person 
 tliat he knew ; hardly o!ie is omitted. None of 
 the elements supplied in an autobiooraphy are 
 wanting. In the intervals of his ehroniclings he 
 tells us what he has himself done, with his various 
 adventures in love and travel. P^very book or 
 pamphlet that he wTote is described, with every 
 book that he intended to write ; and he unfolds to 
 us all his hatreds and dislikes in the most unre- 
 strained fashion. 
 
 Again, as to the jeers and rough rallying of 
 his friends, what if his opportunity w^ere to come 
 on later, and the w^orld w^ere to learn what 
 manner of man he really was, how much he had 
 seen and had written, and how he could hold his 
 part in talk and debate ? A time might come, too, 
 when he could pay off all scores. In his book 
 he would be able to silence ribald scoffers. All 
 through he would make his august friend vouch 
 for his character and morals, and for his orthodox 
 views. He would show how that friend could 
 be tolerant and indulgent to common failings ; nay, 
 he would prove that the Sage himself had fallen 
 like other men. Johnson's example was, indeed, to 
 be his vindication ; indirectly he should be used 
 to save his biographer's moral character, seriously 
 damaged by his notorious laxity of life — to which 
 he imparted a sort of Tartuffe complexion by his
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 5 
 
 ostentatious professions of religion. Boswell brings 
 the subject up again and again, and, knowing that 
 Johnson had himself to war vigorously against 
 the flesh, artfully contrives to take him on this side, 
 and thus secure his great authority. 
 
 And was he not appointed supernaturally, as 
 it were, to take charge of the Doctor, not only 
 during life, but even after his death ? He was 
 to search into, adjudicate on, reward and punish all 
 who had failed in their duty or respect to him — 
 Boswell — who had been appointed guardian of all 
 the Sage's interests during life or death. He was 
 to watch over, regulate, and bring to judgment all 
 flippant speakers and doers, together with those who 
 had shown irreverence to him, the viceroy over 
 Johnson. As this was a sacred delegation, he would 
 show no mercy to anyone, he would soften nothing, 
 be most strict in his judgment, pass over nothing. 
 He consciously held to this as a matter of faith. 
 Hence his severity towards women as well as men 
 who did not recognize his, the great Boswell's, 
 position. His rage when Hawkins called him simply 
 " Mr. Boswell," without any compliment or other 
 description, was due, not to affronted personal 
 vanity, but to an offensive non-recognition of his 
 high position. I am convinced that any other inter- 
 pretation of his dislikes would be erroneous. It 
 would be quite inconsistent with his undisturbed 
 good-humour — his forgiveness and amiability.
 
 6 iu)s\vi:li;s ("iiAKAcri'H .\n.\lv/i:i) [di. i. 
 
 The assuinpliDn that .)t)hiis()n would welcome all 
 these details with <i^ratitiide is exquisitely ludicrous, 
 and it slunvs how dense was Bozzy's feeling. 
 
 How strange a thing is this ! All the time that 
 he was toiling at the oar, while affecting to portray 
 his great chief, he was carefully preparing — laying 
 up stores of material for his ow^n exaltation, setting 
 himself forward, telling all about himself, his family, 
 his friends, his ow^n sayings and doings and writings ; 
 in ftict, putting before the reader a perfect picture 
 of "James Boswell, of Auchinleck, Esquire"; 
 making him a living, moving image, second only 
 to that of the great man himself. 
 
 On careful examination, it will be seen that 
 almost from the first day Boswell set himself to 
 be " viceroy " over Johnson. The journey to the 
 Hebrides was the first step. Why was Bozzy so 
 eager to carry out this plan, harping on it, forcing 
 it on Johnson w^iere he could ? Simply because it 
 confirmed him in his office before the public. It 
 put him in evidence. Then came the small sub- 
 sidiary journeys and visits in company with the 
 great man, with " assiduous attendance " on him. 
 It w^as amazing that the aide-de-camp was not 
 formally installed in Johnson's household, but it 
 wdll be remembered that a room was actually given 
 him, lodging but no board, though the experiment 
 lasted only for a short time. It can be shown, 
 indeed, that the Doctor made occasional efforts to
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 7 
 
 free himself from his servitude, but the stohd in- 
 sensibihty and good-humour of the henchman frus- 
 trated all such attempts. What if into the texture 
 of his book Boswell could contrive to infuse a 
 sort of apologia for himself and for his vi^hole life, 
 and thus prove that he was not unworthy of his 
 great friend ? What if, while professedly delineating 
 the Doctor, he should make himself loom yet 
 larger ; and, while affecting to remain in the back- 
 ground, set forth his own life and career, show 
 what his own character was, and how deeply re- 
 spected was that character by Johnson ? He has 
 really done all this, and, in an exceedingly adroit 
 and artful way, has made Johnson his advocate and 
 defender. 
 
 But we may go yet deeper, and reach a more 
 curious development. Not content with giving 
 these incidental accounts of himself and his doings, 
 Boswell had an ambition to register his own 
 views and speculations, even ramblings, on many 
 things. For he was an imaginative thinker, a 
 highly romantic being, full of dreamings. 1'hese 
 views and comments of his are interesting. It is 
 clear that he put them down, not for show, but 
 simply because they were pet theories and hobbies, 
 and he wished that others should relish them also. 
 Some were of a transcendental kind. The whole 
 mixture of Bozzy and his thoughts, fancies, and 
 erratic doings, makes up a curious mingle-mangle,
 
 8 1U)S\\ KLLS C'1IAI{A(TKR ANALYZED [cii. i. 
 
 wliicli almost puts liini on a level with the fj^^rcat 
 man himself. 
 
 \\'e know what trouhle Boswcll had in devising 
 a descriptive title for his book, especially with the 
 awkward words ** Comprehending an Account," etc., 
 which exercised him much. It will be noticed that 
 it is a rather limited title, and carefully specifies 
 what he considered was sufficient for a Life. He 
 seems to rest cliiefiy on the report of the conversa- 
 tions, as he figured in them so largely. 
 
 But a more accurate and faithful descriptive title 
 might be found that would summarize all the topics 
 that were dealt with. Such would be — 
 
 THE 
 LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, 
 
 FULL ACCOUNT OF HIS VARIOUS CONVERSATIONS, 
 TAKEN DOWN liY THE EDITOR. 
 
 Containing also a Complete Autobiography of 
 James Boswell, Esq., with a Full Account of 
 his Family, Ancestors, Relations ; his Adventures 
 Abroad and at Home ; his Career at the Bars of 
 England and Scotland, with an Account of Various 
 Cases in which he was concerned ; a Description of 
 his Friends, Acquaintances, and Enemies, with all 
 their Characters, Faults, and Frailties ; his Love 
 Passages; his Disputes and Enmities; his Excesses 
 in Wine; his Religious Opinions, Pious Utterances, 
 Sermons, etc. ; with a List of his Writings, including 
 both those proposed and those already written ; 
 and atso his Revisions and Corrections of the 
 Doctors Opinions and Criticisms ; with, finally, an 
 Account of the Editor's Opinions and Speculations 
 on Many Subjects.
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 9 
 
 Who could suppose that he would embark on a 
 life of such servitude, with the almost Utopian 
 view of sitting at Johnson's feet and drinking in 
 wisdom from those sagacious lips, unless he had 
 some important personal aim in view ? This aim, 
 it may be contended, was his own advancement and 
 self-exaltation ; to be shown forth to the great public 
 as a distinguished literary man, or at least as one of 
 the august circle, the friend of Johnson's friends. 
 He was not as yet capable of writing an important 
 work, but he should be admitted to the ranks of 
 the arbiters, classed with Goldsmith, Langton, 
 Percy, and the rest. Almost at once, after the 
 introduction, he began his system of recording 
 Johnson, taking down all he said, " sticking close 
 to him " — notes destined to form the basis of 
 the great Life and general record of the literary 
 world of his time. That Life, which at last he 
 saw that he alone could furnish, should, he dared 
 whisper to himself, be also his own memorial. 
 
 Now, this view has been wholly overlooked — the 
 personal, perhaps selfish, view — but it is the only 
 probable one. It is absurd to think that a sensu- 
 alist such as Boswell was could really hunger and 
 pine for the society of a social moralist like Johnson. 
 In fashionable society he had no hope of being 
 important, but as the obsequious friend, follower, 
 and worshipper of the great literary giant, they 
 might gradually admit him to their fellowship.
 
 10 HOSWKLI.S CIlAUAC'rilU ANALV/Kl) |( ii. i. 
 
 It is siirprisini^ how deftly l^oswell contrives to 
 make his own personahty— his thoui^hts, feelings, 
 and animosities — pervade his book from beginnin«r 
 to end. It is a unique thing to find a biographer 
 iissaihng his enemies persistently fi'om the first page 
 to the very last, as he does in the case of Hawkins.* 
 
 Eager as he was to win celebrity, even to the 
 making himself, as he did so, expend the best por- 
 tion of his life in a long, assiduous drudgery as the 
 " follower " of the " grand old Samuel "—who, like 
 ^Ir. Pickwick, had his train of " followers," members 
 of /lis club — it seemed hard that in the late days 
 of his full celebrity no one should have given him 
 credit for what he most sought — a character on a 
 level ^vith that of his associates. For to the present 
 moment, during the hundred and ten years or so 
 
 * Not less curious is the ingenious fashion in which he 
 contrives to make his own share in any incident as con- 
 spicuous and creditable as possible. Witness the painful 
 and indiscreet transaction of the application for an increase 
 to Johnson's pension, which cast a cloud over the great man's 
 closing days. Here Bozzy holds himself as the hero, carefully 
 veiling his own clumsy and unbecoming intrusion into a 
 matter that did not concern him, with the result of bringing 
 Johnson into a most humiliating situation. Boswell, as we 
 know, actually took on himself, without Johnson's knowledge, 
 to represent to the Court that his friend was in a distressed 
 position and without money, whereas he knew that Johnson 
 had plenty saved, and could afford to lend to his friends. It 
 is an awkward incident in the Sage''s life that, when he came 
 to know of the matter, he did not at once indignantly 
 repudiate the statement, but acquiesced in it.
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 11 
 
 of his popularity, he has only been accepted as a 
 chronicler or reporter of talks, or " follower " of the 
 great man. 
 
 All the commentators, the Crokers and Birk- 
 beck Hills, have agreed that elucidating notes, by 
 way of correction or illumination, should form the 
 attraction of the "show." They have worked 
 like the old scholiasts, and furnished " variorum " 
 editions. But all the time, who of them dreamed 
 that they were treating, not so much Dr. Johnson's 
 life (at most a subsidiary matter), as The Life and 
 Times and Vindication of James Boswell, Esquire, 
 of Auchinieck— his thoughts and sayings ; his doings 
 here, there, and everywhere ; his direction and 
 correction of his master ; his complete leadership ; 
 his toleration of insult, in order to set himself right 
 before the reader, and show how patiently he had 
 borne it, and, at the close, that the great moralist 
 had grievously erred in decency and restraint ? 
 Mr. Croker, indeed, in a shadowy way had given 
 a hint that there might be a new and interesting 
 course of inquiry in this direction — as interesting, 
 almost, as that concerning Johnson himself. And 
 there can be no doubt that this alone would shed 
 light on the many perplexing things in the book 
 and its scheme. This is certain, and it will be 
 admitted, after perusal of the following pages, 
 that here we have Boswell writing, by the aid of 
 Johnson, not so much Johnson's life as Boswell's.
 
 12 1U)S\\ KLLS C"l!AKA( "IKll ANALV/KD [en. i. 
 
 Mr. Crokcr adds to his speculation, that there 
 is reason io helieve that Boswell's mind was a 
 little unhin«ied, his malady being disguised under 
 that of hypochondria; this, too, was the belief 
 among some of his contemporaries. But this may 
 be going too far. Even the very extent of Bozzy's 
 personal lucubrations, if contrasted w^ith those 
 concerning his chief, will be found more profuse 
 and personal than those of his friend and mentor. 
 
 But there is a still higher interest. Where can 
 such a picture of a mind with its " anfractuosities," 
 as Johnson called them, be found anywhere, or 
 such an entertaining picture of motives — often 
 revealed in a ludicrously transparent fashion ? 
 And these revelations we ow^e to a remarkable 
 gift in the author ; for he possessed one valuable 
 quality without w^hich his great w^ork would have 
 been an impossibility, and that was courage, or 
 candour, or recklessness — foolhardiness, as some 
 would call it. It was a sheer indifference to conse- 
 quences, which left him quite careless as to what 
 anyone felt or thought about him. Very likely 
 it was ignorance, just as the old salt said of the 
 Cockney rowers, " They fears nothing because they 
 knows nothing." A stranger thing was, that no 
 severe lesson seemed to open his eyes or give him 
 caution. A truly mysterious character ! 
 
 It is in the details and general current of the 
 narrative that we find this assertive personality
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELKS CHARACTER ANALYZED 13 
 
 of Boswell persistently revealed. At every turn 
 he settles, limits, or utters censures ; if there are 
 any opinions not acceptable to him, it seems to be 
 forced upon him to lay down that he cannot approve, 
 or that he does so only partially. Such declaration 
 he will supplement with his own view of the 
 matter. He is constantly using such phrases as 
 " I am inclined to think," " I believe the true 
 view," etc. But he most loves to lay before us 
 his feelings of happiness and enjoyment, and how 
 he is affected by most things ; and certainly we 
 would not willingly spare any of these engaging 
 reflections, for they are natural and truly affect- 
 ing or romantic. But is this the function of a 
 biographer, when he sits down to write a full and 
 elaborate account of some distinguished man? 
 Such a writer gathers all the facts, the letters 
 from and to his subject, recounts his move- 
 ments, the events in which he took part. He 
 studiously stands aside, or at the most reports 
 something of importance in which he had a neces- 
 sary share, his own portion being used merely to 
 make clearer the part taken by the principal, for 
 the book is about him exclusively. 
 
 There is one trifling matter which might escape 
 notice, which seems the most significant proof of 
 all of our author's fixed purpose to omit nothing 
 which shall make him important in his readers' 
 eyes. Could we conceive in our day an official
 
 U HOSWKI.l.S ("IIARACTKR ANALYZED [ni. i. 
 
 l)ioixr:iphcr, busy with the lilc of one ol' tlic «,n-catest 
 luminaries of liis a^i^e, suddenly stopping to inform 
 the reader that at sueh a time he himself was about 
 to he manied, and that he was moved to write a 
 little eomie epigram on the event — doggerel, in fact ? 
 Suppose he further explained that he had shown it 
 to a manager, wdio had it set to music ; and also to 
 the subject of the biography, who made one remark 
 upon it ? Yet all this is exactly what Bosw^ell did, 
 for when he was about to be married he submitted 
 to his CTreat friend a little " matrimonial thoui^ht " 
 which he had written a propos of the event, but 
 which has nothing whatever to do v/ith his 
 narrative : 
 
 " In the blithe days of honeymoon, 
 
 With Kate's allurements smitten, 
 I loved her late, I loved her soon, 
 
 And called her ' dearest kitten/ 
 But now my kitten's grown a cat, 
 
 And cross like other wives ; 
 Oh, by my soul ! my honest Matt, 
 
 I fear she has nine lives !" 
 
 But he never could resist the vanity of thus 
 advertising himself: the sole connection of Johnson 
 with the matter being a casual " Sir, you should 
 not swear !" Now, did we in a modern book come 
 upon a passage of this kind, we should consider the 
 author to be mad or foolish. Yet this represents 
 the whole general tone of his work, which often 
 has as Uttle reference to Johnson as the verses
 
 OH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 15 
 
 just quoted. But all the same he was entitled to 
 set them down in a work which he looked on as 
 his own autobiography — the only title on which he 
 had a right to introduce them. 
 
 Nor must it be supposed that Bozzy had any 
 formal pin-pose or design of writing a biography 
 of himself as such. He was shrewd enough to see 
 that his attitude would reveal itself. " Bless me, 
 what a practice that young man has !" exclaimed 
 the people at Bristol when Mr. Sawyer was 
 called out of church. Bozzy 's readers would say, 
 " Bless me, what would the Doctor have done 
 without him !" He managed everything for him. 
 A clever, capable fellow — could do anything, 
 knew everybody. The Doctor was a child in 
 his hands, but let him have the credit of every- 
 thing. He took all his rough treatment without a 
 murmur. 
 
 Thomas Carlyle, in his generous vindication of 
 Boswell, has contended — and his view has been 
 usually accepted — that it was a fine trait in his 
 character that he should have chosen to attach 
 himself to a humble and struggling writer, a sort 
 of "auld dominie," without influence, instead of 
 to some person of importance in the social or 
 political world. Such patronage, if he had 
 expended the same pains and toil he had done 
 on Johnson, would have been more profitable. 
 But this view, sagacious as it is, seems a little
 
 IG H()S\Vi:i,i;s ClIAKACrKK ANALVZKl) [cii. i. 
 
 uto])ian. It brintjrs us at once to the consider- 
 ation of what was Hozzy's plan of Hfe, and 
 liow lie proposed to play its great game. He 
 was ambitious, eager to get forward and make 
 a show, to get to know folk, attract attention, 
 and be talked of. He set his mind on going into 
 the Guards, but his father would not consent, and 
 insisted on his joining the Scottish Bar. With 
 difficulty he was brought to agi'ee, making terms 
 that he was to be allow^ed to see the world first. 
 He made a wonderful little tour — made acquaint- 
 ance with such notables as Voltaire, Rousseau, 
 Wilkes, Paoli, and others ; keeping a " mis- 
 tress," even. When he returned he showed an 
 extraordinary eagerness to become acquainted with 
 Dr. Johnson, and by a wonderful chance, for it 
 was quite an unusual thing wdth the great man, the 
 Doctor took a fancy to him, liking him fi'om the 
 first. Without this the public stock of harmless 
 pleasure would have been fatally impoverished, 
 and we should have lost the great book ; for no 
 one to whom Johnson was merely tolerant would 
 have been admitted to such intimacy. When 
 Boswell found, moreover, what a power Johnson 
 was in his own circle, and what a brilliant, 
 important circle it was, and how admired and 
 respected he was by the public, he saw that here 
 was a strength and support which might carry 
 him very far, bring him friends and the notoriety
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELL^S CHARACTER ANALYZED 17 
 
 he longed for. The Doctor was talked of: he 
 would come to be talked of also. 
 
 The remarkable and all but unique incident of 
 the intimacy — that the principal tyrannized over, 
 insulted, and degraded his " follower " by abuse 
 and humiliations, treatment that was endured for 
 twenty years with only patient remonstrance — can 
 only be explained, it appears to me, by Boswell's 
 settled purpose to endure to the last without 
 flinching, with a view to carrying out his fixed plan. 
 Nothing else will account for it. The sorriest, 
 meanest drudge, on some extreme insult, will turn 
 at last. Boswell was determined not to break with 
 his patron and master ; were he to do so, his whole 
 life-plan would be shipwrecked and all his already 
 invested " savings " lost. Dismissed in disgrace 
 from his master's service, he would have no more 
 opportunities ; the Johnsonian set would look 
 coldly on, or take up the quarrel ; he could not with 
 comfort attend the Club. That this is no mere 
 speculation is certain, for at the end of Johnson's 
 life, on some attack more scurrilous than usual, 
 Boswell's long-suffering patience at last gave way : 
 he cast off his allegiance, refused to be reconciled, 
 would not even write to him, and let him die with- 
 out seeing him.* And he is unnamed in Johnson's 
 will. 
 
 * This painful episode, hitherto scarcely noticed by the 
 commentators, will be fully treated farther on. 
 
 2
 
 IS HOSWKl.l/S CIIARACTKR ANALVZKl) [( n. i. 
 
 All ihc while he was diligLMitly carrying on his 
 chronicle; but before lie had been at this work very 
 long, it must have struck him, and this more and 
 more as the days passed by, what an immense 
 share he was having in the business — how he was 
 making himself prominent ; how much depended 
 on him ; how, in fact, he "bossed the whole show," 
 led the orchestra. All the singers and actors 
 depended on him and the places he allotted them. 
 " It is I," he might say, " who have really done it 
 all." Later on he w^ould become more profuse in 
 matters concerning himself. We can conceive 
 the ideas and pictures that were in the great 
 Boswellian soul. " Figaro la, Figaro qua." For 
 m all the gi'oups there was one figure, centre of 
 every group, intimate with all, and on equal terms 
 wdth all. 
 
 The most striking and most ambitious of all his 
 schemes of self-advertisement was the tour in the 
 Hebrides, planned and carried out with steady 
 perseverance through a number of years. It w^as 
 to set the seal upon their intimacy and proclaim it 
 through the land. How impossible seemed such 
 a scheme, what difficulties were in the way ! One 
 might wonder how Johnson could dream of such a 
 thing — of facing all the annoyances and troubles of 
 travelling through a semi-civilized country ; but 
 the persuasive tongue of Bozzy never let the project 
 drop, and at last he had his way. That and the
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELLS CHARACTER ANALYZED 19 
 
 Dilly dinner were his great triumphs. The result, 
 too, was what he counted on. All the newspapers 
 were full of accounts of the enterprising travellers 
 and their adventures, but it is easy to see that the 
 whole credit was given to Mr. Boswell. He 
 was the organizer, the leader, the arranger ; he 
 conquered all the difficulties, not the least of which 
 must have been the humours of his principal, as 
 well as his outbursts, of which Boswell gives only 
 a few specimens. But there can be no doubt that 
 his was the prominent figure. 
 
 This instance seems to me to establish incon- 
 testably the theory I have been putting forward, 
 that Boswell intended himself to be the lead- 
 ing personage in his work, and that he should 
 stand above Johnson. In this matter his claim 
 was almost audaciously made. 
 
 Boswell had courage: though it was always a 
 wonder how in those days of the duel he escaped 
 being " called out " or chastised, if not for his words, 
 at least for the gross ofFensiveness of his tone 
 and insinuations. He certainly was bold and 
 fearless, and we never hear of his having to 
 apologize or make amende. Even when, as in 
 the case of Sir A. Macdonald, he felt bound to 
 alter something, he also felt bound to leave 
 standing what was sufficiently offensive. His 
 mind was full of artful little devices for shielding 
 himself or carrying out his purpose. When put
 
 20 r>(y«^\vi:i,T;s rii.\R.\(Ti:ii analyzed [ci. i. 
 
 on his det'eiice, no one could write better or more 
 effectively, and the half-contemptuous tone which 
 accompanied his reasonings w^as admirably assumed. 
 Everybody, save perhaps a few, liked him. He was 
 considered pleasant company. Mr. Cradock, a 
 noted viveur of the day, who knew everybody, 
 declared him to be one of the most entertaining 
 and agreeable companions conceivable. Here is 
 another mystery, for Bozzy's vanity and folly 
 must have been disturbing elements ; but Cradock 
 was thinking of his unfailing bonhomie and good- 
 nature. 
 
 One of the prodigies to be associated with this 
 extraordinary man was his carrying on his vast 
 hterary enterprise, a sort of encyclopaedia, in- 
 volving labours, researches, inquiries, etc., in the 
 face of innumerable distractions of drink and 
 debauchery, and the attendant depression from 
 which he suffered so acutely. The feat was some- 
 thing heroic, and he carried it through triumphantly 
 in about six or seven years. The " Tour " was com- 
 paratively easy, and apparently was all but ready 
 for the press ; for it appeared in 1785, a few months 
 after Johnson's death. But the magnum opus was 
 a different thing. 
 
 Boswell, thus supported by his great *' Ajax of 
 letters," might very naturally be tempted to " take 
 airs," as it is called. He lays out all the opinions 
 and criticisms on the various topics of discussion,
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 21 
 
 always adroitly seasoning his statements with def- 
 erential and submissive flatteries to his chief ; yet 
 I never can persuade myself that the very sober and 
 sensible arguments with which he supported his 
 views were really uttered by him at the time. 
 As he was a practised writer, it seems all but 
 certain that he recomposed and carefully arranged 
 all he said to the very best advantage, and 
 substituted for rather "floundering" and hurried 
 utterances the measured arguments that we 
 have before us now. And who shall blame him for 
 this ? Who could resist such a temptation ? " This 
 passage is poor, this argument weak — 1 see a point 
 here : why not amend or rewrite ?" he seems to say. 
 I can fancy Langton and the other members rather 
 astonished as they read these displays of their 
 friend, who really must often have made a rather 
 inferior exhibition. AVe know plainly that Bozzy 
 was hardly a man to be attended to in the com- 
 pany of Burke, Windham, and Goldsmith. In 
 the case of the latter, we can understand that Bos- 
 well rather dreaded his rough remarks, his blurting 
 out blunt truths and criticisms. Bozzy in the hands 
 of Beauclerk, that man of the world, must have been 
 rather helpless. But in the book no one would sus- 
 pect anything of the kind. This alone must make 
 us uneasy as to the histrionic character of the 
 narrative. 
 
 And thus we come round to the flnal con-
 
 22 B()SWKLi;s ( IIAHACTKR ANALYZED [di. i. 
 
 elusion, tliat tliis Hoswcll of Aiichiiileck, by his 
 do«^«icd perseverance, liis insensibility, his flexibility, 
 deference, and management, had contrived to in- 
 Huence all performers, from the great man himself 
 — Burke, Reynolds, Goldsmith, and the rest — all 
 of whom had to accept and lend themselves to his 
 methods, which methods had the one aim, to make 
 himself important. 
 
 I can forecast that this theory will be unaccept- 
 able, and perhaps be received with hostility. But 1 
 am as convinced as that I am writing these lines 
 that it is the only true view of Boswell which has 
 appeared. This view is founded on human nature 
 and character. 
 
 When considering how our author carried out 
 his great purpose of self-exaltation, w^e must bear in 
 mind that he was addressing an audience who were 
 not yet familiar with his own personality, and who 
 w^ere really ignorant of all the grotesque details 
 w^iich have come to light during the past century 
 or so. To such, Bozzy must have appeared a grave, 
 pleasant, and capable man — highly important in 
 his own circle, known to all the world, well read 
 and even learned, and privileged with the friend- 
 ship of all the leading literary personages.! 
 
 This is likely to be a rather long and serious 
 inquiry, but I think it will prove an interesting 
 one. It will be shown to rest chiefly on the almost 
 personal character of all the topics treated,
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELKS CHARACTER ANALYZED 23 
 
 with a special view to everything BoswelHan. It 
 will be shown that his whole life-history, feelings, 
 passions, doings of all kinds, are included in his 
 book, and dealt with in the most minute fashion. 
 The history of his religious views becomes an 
 important factor, with — perhaps the most im- 
 portant of all — his disguised but settled purpose 
 to minimize the accepted value of the Doctor's 
 utterances by frequent disagreement and correc- 
 tion. It will be shown that Boswell speaks every- 
 where, always for himself, setting himself forth to the 
 best advantage — and, mark ! in a work professing to 
 be the biography of another. We find, accordingly, 
 nearly everything that is important about Bozzy 
 told by Bozzy himself, such as — 
 
 (1) An account of his ancestors ; (2) full descrip- 
 tions of all the members of his family — his wife, 
 children, brothers, uncles, etc. ; (3) a full account 
 on every opportunity of his own thoughts, opinions, 
 feelings, criticisms — mostly opposed to those of 
 the subject of his memoirs ; (4) a detailed list of all 
 the books and writings that he had produced, with 
 advertisement of the works he proposed to write 
 at some future time ; (5) an account of his various 
 journeys, travels, and movements ; (6) abundant 
 and highly interesting revelations of his own feel- 
 ings, impressions, retrospects, likings, dislikings, 
 fancies, and the like ; (7) his private opinions of all 
 sorts of notable persons, with criticisms on their
 
 ^21 lU)S\Vl.I.i;S C'lIAUACTKU ANALVZKl) [< ii. i. 
 
 works and doings, aiul anecdotes disparaging and 
 otherwise ; (S) legal jileadings in Cases where he 
 was eoneerned, all set out at length ; (9) abundant 
 letters of his ow^n writing; (10) long disquisitions 
 on political matters, the arts, music, etc. ; (11) in- 
 cessant refutations of Johnson's statements, to the 
 establishment of his own more correct ones ; (12) a 
 number of conversations, presumably taken down 
 at the time, but recomposed after the event. 
 
 In presence of these important departments, who 
 can conscientiously say that such would be a bio- 
 graphy of another ? Would it not be much more 
 properly the biography of the writer himself ? It is 
 only by minute examination that it can be con- 
 vincingly show^n that Boswell was all through 
 intending to be the prominent figure. 
 
 It would be easy to conceive how Boswell, rumi- 
 nating on his herculean labours, should gradually 
 come to believe that Johnson lay under a load of 
 obligation to him. What had he not done for 
 him ? Every department of the great book might 
 be considered as in a measure his own composition 
 or fashioning. In his carefully considered title- 
 page we find a sort of abstract of these departments. 
 It was the Life of the Doctor, the account, by 
 date and place and adventure, of his progress — a 
 rather formal business, not difficult to execute, as 
 there was plenty of material to hand. It was the 
 least important part of the whole, but one showing
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 25 
 
 much diligence and accuracy. I should say it filled 
 about one-fourth of the volumes. This was his 
 own work. But it was made to " comprehend " a 
 vast deal more that was also the author's — " com- 
 prehending an account of his studies and numerous 
 works in chronological order, a series of his epis- 
 tolary correspondence a7id conversations with many 
 eminent persons^' with his many compositions 
 " never before published." But then comes this 
 important notice, the gist of the scheme : " The 
 whole exhibiting a view of literature and literary 
 men in Great Britain for nearly half a century 
 during which he flourished." Here was the point. He 
 was to furnish " the view of literature and literary 
 men," and, above all, the " view " of Boswell him- 
 self. Comprehending and comprehensive indeed ! 
 
 But the bulk of the work was given up to 
 the Johnsonian talks. And what were these 
 talks ? Boswell's own share really almost equalled 
 that of the great Sage. He had written of 
 Johnson's life through all its stages, collected his 
 letters, together with scattered and hitherto un- 
 known writings, had given abundant sketches of 
 eminent literary personages — living portraits with 
 spirited anecdotes of all kinds — and finally, and 
 most important of all, had presented himself'in the 
 most abundant detail — in fact, it was an almost com- 
 plete Autobiography, as it is the purpose of these 
 pages to show. It is all l^oswell, save — as has already
 
 26 BOSWKLl/S (IIAUACTKH ANALYZED [( ii. i. 
 
 l)ccii atc'cptcd or assumed — the })c)i'tion of "scries 
 of liis t'oiivcrsations " uhicli came from Johnson 
 himself. 
 
 As he ruminated over liis toil and drud^^ery 
 during his twenty years of painful servitude, did 
 it ever occur to him that where he had found so 
 much he might also claim credit for what he had 
 done in this department ? The world, he might 
 say, \v\\\ give the Sage the whole credit for these 
 utterances. They will exclaim, " How wise ! How 
 sagacious ! What wit and what humour !" " Yet 
 it is I — 1, Boswell — who drudged, laboured, 
 collected, shaped ;" ay, more than shaped — JoJin- 
 sonized — large and mysterious word, signifying 
 anything from editing and altering to actual 
 original composition — eveiything set down in his 
 chronicle. Never in any known book was the 
 spirit of exulting personality so exhibited — and 
 without the least affectation. He talked and 
 talked, lectured, abused, reviled even, as though 
 it were the most natural thing to do — not for 
 the world in general, but for specially gifted and 
 privileged persons like himself. He spared neither 
 man, woman, nor child — indeed, he has a special 
 tirade against children as nuisances. 
 
 Boswell's Autobiography is assuredly one of the 
 great books of England. But we might reasonably 
 speculate. What would a cultured foreign critic 
 decide as to its merits ? It is strange that it has
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 27 
 
 never been translated, or even noticed critically, 
 abroad. There it seems practically unknown. 
 The reason is, I fancy, because it is unattractive 
 and unfinished. It lacks art in the treatment. 
 To us the ch^amatis pei~sonce are all familiar — 
 Goldsmith, Reynolds, Burke, Garrick, and the 
 others ; but to the foreigner these personages are 
 rather unknown quantities. I am inclined to think 
 that the long and repeated talks, and Johnson's 
 disquisitions on morals and social life, etc., must 
 seem very dull — rather tedious and uninteresting — 
 to the stranger. We forget, too, that we know 
 Johnson so well, have been *' brought up " on him, 
 and have seen him, as it were. The burly figure 
 is interesting to us ; but the foreigner has no 
 interest of this kind. Yet it is curious that 
 Bozzy's tour in Corsica should have been trans- 
 lated into Dutch, I think, and into Italian. As a 
 biography, Boswell's work is hardly artistic. 
 '^ James Boswell, or "Jimmy Boswell," or, more 
 familiar still, " Bozzy, " was one of the most unique 
 and original of characters. He seemed to be every- 
 thing at once — foolish, wise, humorous, popular 
 and disliked, spiteful and resentful, nourishing 
 enmities and feeling them as a state of suffering, 
 affectionate to his friends, idle and dissolute, yet 
 industrious, accomplished, well-read, generous, a 
 student, a good and abundant writer, overflowing 
 with vanity. All this, and infinitely more, we
 
 S8 B(1S\Vi:i.i;s CIIAUAI TKU analyzed [cm. I. 
 
 learn almost entirely from himsclt". In liict, we 
 mii^lit draw out a lon»^ catalogue of his varied and 
 brilliant ii^it'ts.* 
 
 That Bozzy had the most ambitious designs, 
 antl reckoned confidently on taking high place 
 as a social celebrity, is clear from his natural 
 equipment, which was brilliant and varied. Were 
 we to draw up a list of all his gifts and accomplish- 
 ments, with his many traits of character, feelings, 
 and idiosyncrasies, we should find that he himself 
 has provided us with full materials for the purpose : 
 
 1. He was a well-read classical scholar, familiar 
 with Latin and Greek writers, and able to quote 
 from them. He had even read the Renaissance 
 Latin writers, such as Sannazaro, Buchanan, and 
 others. 
 
 2. He was a traveller, and WTote accounts of his 
 travels in an agreeable, informing style. 
 
 3. He contributed to the magazines, and tells us 
 the names of all his contributions. 
 
 4. He was an ardent lover of music, and thrilled 
 on hearing his native "pipes." 
 
 5. He wrote verses fluently, particularly satirical 
 ones. 
 
 6. He wrote a long and elaborate treatise on the 
 
 * I have practised this system all my life, and have learnt 
 the art of giving a situation with a few effective strokes, 
 suggested by a well-practised imagination trained at once to 
 answer to a call. I have often myself wondered at how 
 faithfully the descriptions represented the situations.
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 29 
 
 treatment of hypochondria and low spirits, from 
 which he suffered acutely. 
 
 7. He was an amorist, the devoted slave of the 
 ladies and of women generally. 
 
 8. He could conduct an argument or discussion 
 with spirit. 
 
 9. He was a strong religionist : a " pietist," it 
 might be called, "by profession" — i.e., professing it 
 publicly and openly, reading religious books, etc., 
 coram 'publico. 
 
 10. He was bon-vivant and good comrade at 
 a drinking bout, when, as he tells us himself, 
 he often made sad exhibition of himself. 
 
 11. A man repandu at the clubs, taverns, 
 nobility's houses, and other places, a diner-out, 
 goer to parties, etc. 
 
 12. A barrister in moderate practice, engaged 
 at the General Assembly meetings and before the 
 House of Lords in Scotch cases. 
 
 13. A writer of prologues and occasional verses. 
 
 14. A bright and descriptive letter- writer. 
 
 15. He had a true sense of humour, and could 
 on occasion be even witty. 
 
 16. He could tell a story admirably and artis- 
 tically. 
 
 17. He was excellent company. 
 
 18. He was a politician, and offered himself for 
 Parliament to the electors of his county. He was 
 an excellent critic.
 
 M HOSW i;i.i;S CHARACTKR analyzed [ch. i. 
 
 That Hoswell's rea(lin<T was vast is shown by the 
 rci'oiKhte and unexpected alhisions, (juotations, 
 etc., which he is constantly making. Having said, 
 during one of the talks, that "as a lady adjusts 
 her dress before a mirror, so a man adjusts his 
 character by looking at his diary," lie added, " I 
 next year found the very same thought in Atter- 
 bury's sermon on Lady Cutts : 'In this glass she 
 every day dressed her mind.' This is a proof of 
 coincidence, not of plagiarism, for I never saw the 
 sermon before." In a discussion on truthfulness 
 we find him quoting from " Rhedi de Generatione 
 Insectorum," who quotes an Italian writer whose 
 lines BosW'cll gives. He gives a passage from Lord 
 Bolingbroke, and another from Pope's imitation of 
 Horace — the antique story of Cornibabus, lines 
 upon Acis and Galatea, Nash's " History of 
 Worcester," etc. 
 
 How" curious a thing, too, that when the book 
 first came out no one ever thought of saying : 
 " Why, this is all about Boswell ! He has ' fobbed 
 off' upon us his own life instead of the Doctor's." 
 But Bozzy had managed the thing cleverly. It 
 was hard to see what he was at, he had disguised it 
 so artfully. Thus, there were those uninteresting 
 law cases to which he got Johnson to supply 
 armament for the negro argument, for this seemed 
 to bring forward Johnson. But no ! It was 
 Bozzy 's own case — and he was retained in im-
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELKS CHARACTER ANALYZED 31 
 
 portant business. He had influence enough to 
 secure the advice of so eminent a man. He was 
 again the centrepiece. 
 
 Bozzy was then Uttle over thirty; it seems won- 
 derful that he should have attained so prominent 
 a position. One would have expected that this 
 gay young man would have followed someone 
 of rank or influence ; but no — he preferred the 
 excellent Johnson. Now, any student of character, 
 or even observer of character, would have been 
 puzzled and interested by this, especially as Bos- 
 well, in his naive manner, confides to us all his 
 difficulties and embarrassments. 
 
 We follow his course abroad, where he was 
 lionized — to Corsica, to Rome, and until his return 
 home. Very few years pass over his head, when 
 we find him perfectly at home in the literary "set," 
 knowing everybody that it was worth while to 
 know. He was received as an author and literary 
 man. Goldsmith, Burke, Windham, Dr. Percy, 
 and other notable men, were his acquaintances. 
 Then comes the famous Hebridean tour, where it 
 is difficult to decide whether the conducted or the 
 conductor was the more important. But we are 
 impressed, and find that it is all very novel and 
 original and unusual, this mixture of talk, touring, 
 and travel. It is like so many little dramas. 
 Mr. Boswell surely must be a very clever fellow, 
 he stage-managed the whole so well.
 
 S2 HOS\\F,Li;S ('1I.\K.\( TKU ANALVZKl) [( ii. t. 
 
 HoswcUs c'hiinicter was an attractive and engag- 
 ing one. His was a truly affectionate nature ; he 
 was ever good-natured, obliging, and willing to 
 do services for his friends, and to do his best for 
 them. He had a feeling of interest and ardour 
 in all that he took in hand, and a sort of native 
 enthusiasm which was pleasing. He was not one 
 of those who were "enthusiastic about nothing." 
 Corresponding with his ardour was the intensity 
 of his dislikes, which seemed uncontrolled, even 
 beyond the measure of decency, as also his desire 
 of retaliation. This feeling was often pushed to 
 excess, when his utterances became all but 
 libellous. 
 
 Nothing is more interesting than the study of a 
 mind — one that is of rare and original description, 
 unfettered by restraints and affectations, and of a 
 pleasant, harmless vanity that will accept every- 
 thing as compliment and say whatever it thinks, 
 "giving itself away," without thought of the 
 consequences. Goldsmith's was something after this 
 pattern, though others could be " superior " and 
 pitying. This " mind " of Bozzy's has never been 
 analyzed or studied ; and had it been, it would have 
 furnished quite as much entertainment as the 
 idiosyncrasies of greater men. It is certain, how- 
 ever, that no other account supplies such a curious 
 mixture of motives, concealed or unconcealed, or 
 reveals without intending it such strange workings
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 33 
 
 of dislikes, petty strokes, envy, and jealousy — yet all 
 in a very harmless and amusing way. He exhibits 
 himself all through as a comedian, and " lets himself 
 go," as the phrase runs, with a dehghtful ease and 
 fluency. 
 
 Mr. Croker, indeed, fancies that a taint of in- 
 sanity was present : " I should be inclined to 
 think that an abnormal and extravagant vanity 
 or inflation is the true explanation of the utter 
 unconsciousness of absurdity which made him re- 
 veal, as a matter of just pride, so many ridiculous 
 matters that others would have concealed. 
 
 " Boswell's book, then, is a curious picture of 
 the human mind in a vast variety of aspects, but 
 there is one view of it — namely, the numberless 
 little touches by which he exhibited, sometimes 
 unconsciously and apologetically, his own follies 
 and frailties, and, in fact, his own mental disorder. 
 I have just hinted this, but abstained from dealing 
 with it out of regard for his family." 
 
 The hypothesis as to the book being Bozzy's 
 own story could be illustrated in amusing fashion 
 by significant quotation. He often contrives to 
 introduce panegyrics of himself. He gives John- 
 son's compliments, which might have brought a 
 blush to his rotund cheeks. Once, expatiating 
 on Johnson's influence, he ingeniously quotes some 
 verses from a poem of his friend Courtenay. This 
 *' poet " touches off" Goldsmith, Reynolds, Burney 
 
 3
 
 34 IU)S\\KLi;s C'llAUAl'lT.li ANALVZKl) [cii. r. 
 
 IMalone, Stcevens, Hawkesworth, and " harmonious 
 Jones ": tlicn <t[ocs on : 
 
 " Amid these names can Boswell be forgot, 
 Scarce bv North Britons now esteemed a Scot, 
 A\'ho, to the Sage devoted from his youth, 
 Imbibed from him the sacred love of truth, 
 The keen research, the exercise of mind. 
 And that best art — the art to know mankind ?" 
 
 This is pretty well. It may be said that to set 
 out and quote a friend's praises of yourself is the 
 same as praising yourself. 
 
 Courtenay added a note all about Mr. Boswell, 
 and quoted by him. " INIr. Boswell, indeed, is so 
 free from national prejudices that he might with 
 equal propriety have been described as 
 
 " Scarce by South Britons now esteemed a Scot." 
 
 All which was deeply concerned with Mr. Bos- 
 well and his autobiography, but not with the Life 
 of the Sage. 
 
 Again, how specially fortunate was it that Bozzy 
 should have come upon the scene ready prepared, 
 and fully equipped with all that was needed for his 
 great office ! He had absolutely all the necessary 
 gifts — obtrusive " pushfulness," ardent love of 
 society, unwearied pains, insensibility to rebuff, 
 the boldness of brass, whatever that may be, good- 
 humour, complete command and control of his 
 temper, though feeling acutely and eager to punish.
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 35 
 
 No thought has been taken of Boswell's devouring 
 eagerness to be considered a great or important 
 man. He would sacrifice everything to that, and in 
 his own book, prepared by twenty years' labour, he 
 would spread himself out largely without fear or 
 restraint. He brings everyone on his stage, 
 ridicules them, eulogizes their sayings, shows them 
 in absurd or respectable situations, proves that he 
 was as important as any of them. This he could 
 do now that he was free and that the tyranny was 
 at an end. Once, when he told his friend that 
 he intended to publish a book of reminiscences, 
 anecdotes, memoirs, etc., Johnson scoffed at him ; 
 but now he would show the world what he 
 could do. 
 
 Nothing is more perplexing than are Johnson's 
 relations with Boswell in their perpetual little de- 
 bating society. It has been assumed as a matter of 
 course that when Bozzy chose to " turn the handle," 
 at that instant the instrument was ready to play the 
 tune. At any moment, at midnight even, if he 
 chose to ask Johnson, " What, sir, do you think 
 of a man who has been rejected by a woman in 
 favour of another man ?" etc., is it conceivable that 
 the Doctor would be always ready to discuss the 
 question ? Yet he would have us believe that he 
 was allowed the rare privilege. Boswell's was 
 not a strong intellect ; he could not bring much 
 *' contributiorj " to a mind such as Johnson's was ;
 
 3() lU)SWELi;s C IIAKACTEH ANALYZED [( h. i. 
 
 and yet we find the latter always ready, on the 
 moment, to discuss cvcrii subject. The truth is, 
 such a state of things is impossible. .Johnson had 
 not this rage for private talk ; he liked a large 
 audience. And yet we are told this arrangement 
 went on for about twenty years ! Of course it may 
 be so. Johnson loved to hear himself talk under any 
 conditions ; but, still, so " chattering " a companion 
 would not have been a great provocative. There 
 is some mystery behind — something that we know 
 not. Of course, with the larger audience, Johnson 
 was at his best and challenged to do his best. 
 But Boswell has not told us of the many rebuffs 
 he must have received. We may wonder at his 
 adroitness in thus leading on Johnson to talk 
 when he chose to make him talk — touching a 
 stop, as it were. It seems quite an art. I knew 
 the late John Forster, the biographer of Dickens, 
 very intimately. He was a hearty man, and 
 always seemed to me to be a sort of type of 
 Johnson ; he had his despotic way, and much 
 intolerance. I used to be with him a great deal, 
 dining, taking walks, etc. His opinions were 
 always interesting, and his stories of men and 
 manners most entertaining. I, of course, had not 
 the boldness, enterprise, or cleverness of Bozzy in 
 conducting such talks, and was more of a listener 
 or humble suggester. But it was impossible for a 
 moment, even, to conceive of any untimely dis-
 
 CH. I.] BOSWELUS CHARACTER ANALYZED 37 
 
 courses at my own will and pleasure, or of " lead- 
 ing " the talk in any way. Nor could I dream of 
 intruding myself at any hour for the purpose of a 
 talk ; I should speedily have been set down or 
 warned away. 
 
 Nothing is more remarkable than Boswell's self- 
 constituted supremacy over the large and motley 
 crowd that he gathered about him in his chronicle. 
 He disposes of them all in the most summary 
 fashion — judging, ridiculing, exposing their secrets 
 — and this in a haughty, contemptuous style that 
 seems ludicrous when compared with his actual 
 bearing. We are hardly prepared to find that he 
 extended this treatment to his patron himself. 
 He, too, had to fall into the ranks, and was duly 
 called up for judgment and criticism : Mr. Boswell 
 was supreme over all. Not that he dared to treat 
 him as unceremoniously as the rest. His methods 
 were more insidious. It really looks as though 
 his purpose were to enfeeble Johnson's authority, 
 by showing that his statements were overcharged 
 and wholly mistaken, and particularly by taking on 
 himself to prove that he was generally astray in 
 what he laid down. Again and again was Boswell 
 enabled to show from his own stores of erudi- 
 tion, that he knew more on the point than John- 
 son did. This course he persistently adopted from 
 first to last. It seems a serious thing to say 
 of the worthy Boswell, but it can be proved by
 
 ;5s iu)s\vi:i,i;s ciiaractkh analyzed [m. i. 
 
 the clearest evidence drawn from liis own book, 
 where on every pa^^e .Johnson is freely criticized, 
 corrected, opposed in his theories, all with a view 
 to fortifyint^ the supreme authority of the writer. 
 1 lun e collected a goodly number of instances of 
 this treatment ; they will be shown presently. 
 
 In addition to his fixed purpose of elevating 
 his own talents, cleverness, and importance, to 
 the fullest degree, it seems to me that Boswell 
 \\ished also to somewhat minimize these qualities in 
 Johnson, and to convey that he had not been hand- 
 somely treated, and that Johnson really owed far 
 more to him — which was true in a measure — than 
 he did to Johnson. It is a painful and awkward 
 thing to urge such things, and 1 anticipate some 
 clamour, and even angry protest, from devoted 
 admirers, but I really think there is considerable 
 evidence for this view of the matter. And we 
 must look to what Bozzy's character was ; it had 
 much of petty spitefulness, was full of little arts 
 and contrivances, and he generally preferred the 
 crooked to the direct path. 
 
 A very disagreeable element in the relations of 
 the Sage and his "follower," painful almost to think 
 of, were those gross and insulting attacks into 
 which Johnson too often broke when irritated by 
 the folly of his pupil. Some are quite unworthy 
 of a high character, and, as an example of a pitiable 
 lack of restraint, witness one notable instance.
 
 cH. I. J BOS WELL'S CHARACTER ANALYZED 39 
 
 One might almost think that he wished to goad 
 Boswell into rebeUion, and to giving him notice 
 of withdrawal from his service. This step Bos- 
 well was too prudent to take, for he had his grand 
 purpose in view — in which he had sunk his whole 
 capital. So he bore all patiently. 
 
 But it would be an incredible thing to suppose 
 that he did not suffer, or did not deeply resent 
 these outrages. He must have been superhuman, 
 and even heroic, in his patience and forgiveness, if 
 he did not. Appeal, of course, will be made to his 
 constant affectionate protestations of love and 
 veneration for his chief, to prove that resentment 
 never rested a moment in his mind. But he was 
 too adroit to take the public into his confidence in 
 that respect. Again, wonder has often been ex- 
 pressed that he should have revealed these scenes, 
 in which he figured in so degraded a way. But 
 could it have been his intention to exhibit Johnson 
 as subject to such failings, as well as to show his 
 own patience ? Who, when considering the be- 
 haviour of the pair in the different situations, would 
 not contrast the restraint of Boswell with the un- 
 becoming violence of Johnson ? And this should 
 be marked, that a time was to arrive at the close 
 when Boswell, weakened and rendered morbidly 
 sensitive by indulgence in drink, was to fling away 
 his long restraint and cast off all allegiance. 
 
 Having thus reviewed at some length the varied
 
 U) HOSWKLL'S CHARACrKU ANALYZED [c ii. i. 
 
 " anfractuosities " of this singular character, 1 will 
 now show in detail, and by departments, the 
 various " motor forces " which he used for the 
 purpose of asserting his supremacy. I hope to 
 pro\'e that Boswell never omitted any element that 
 could bring him reputation or impress the public.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 FIRST MOTOR FORCE — STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 
 
 A HIGHLY important element in Boswell's dis- 
 position seems to prove more than anything else 
 his purpose of making his book the reflection of his 
 very self. Strange as the statement may appear to 
 those who know how disorderly was his character, 
 it may be said that the chief motive force of his 
 whole life can be traced to his strong, overpowering 
 sense of i^eligion. True, it was of a rather spurious 
 kind, founded on sentiment if not on superstition, 
 and based on " impressions " rather than practice. 
 But he had the deepest reverence for religion, and it 
 was always and all through present. He was cour- 
 ageous even in " standing up " for it, and did 
 not shrink from reading aloud passages from his 
 favourite Ogden in mixed companies. Much of 
 this influence might have been set down to a re- 
 markable episode which really afi^ected the current 
 of his life, and which he enshrined in his volumes in 
 a rather cryptic fashion. 
 
 We may imagine a biographer dealing fully and 
 minutely with the religion of the person of whom 
 
 41
 
 49 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [ch. ii. 
 
 he is writing-, and its iiiHuence on his course and 
 character ; hut that he should to a much greater 
 extent devote himself to the expounding of his own 
 religious views, his fervour and ardent aspirations 
 heavenwards, and should be continually introducing 
 the subject for the satisftiction of his doubts and 
 difficulties, would seem almost unaccountable. 
 Under our theory, however, it becomes natural 
 enough. 
 
 A great writer once found a pleasure in secretly 
 storing away in his pages certain curious and pain- 
 ful incidents of his early life, the mystery of which 
 was never known to his readers until after his 
 death. Dickens, it is now well known, thus recorded 
 that highly tragic business of boyish suffering and 
 agony, the period of his " blacking " apprenticeship 
 and torture. He quotes, for instance, the particular 
 " brand" used at the White Hart; the flowers kept 
 in blacking-bottles ; a lord in his speech saying, 
 " We bring up our children to be manufacturers, 
 ironworkers, or blacking-makers,'" — which no one 
 does. There are few of his stories without an allu- 
 sion to this " blacking " topic. Many a reader has 
 wondered at the grim fascination exercised over 
 him by this topic of blacking, blacking-bottles, 
 blacking-polishing. What was the mystery here ? 
 He no doubt found pleasure in thinking how he 
 had escaped, how he had been rescued from a 
 horrible fate ; that now he was safe, secure in port ;
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 43 
 
 he felt a sort of grim satisfaction that he alone was 
 the possessor of the secret. I fancy much the same 
 feeling was in Bozzy's strange heart. Like Dickens, 
 he had his mystery. 
 
 All careful readers must have noted how per- 
 sistently Boswell drew Johnson into argument upon 
 Roman Catholic doctrines, and how he generally 
 contrived to extort favourable judgment from the 
 arbiter. This he artfully did by praises, doubtings, 
 or by finding fault, thus prompting Johnson to 
 defend. In his comments he himself would venture 
 on a gentle plea for the " old religion." Now, 
 neither Johnson nor Boswell's readers ever learned 
 from him that when a young man he had himself 
 been a Roman Catholic, and had left his home to 
 follow that religion in more comfort ; and that he 
 had been " rescued " and brought back to the fold 
 by a skilled Scottish divine, sent after him for the 
 purpose. It was characteristic that it was a Roman 
 Catholic actress who first ensnared him, and then 
 carried him away to her chapel. These odd 
 "blends" were common with Bozzy. Here was 
 an interesting chapter in his life, and we may 
 surmise that his naturally pious nature was always 
 haunted by scruples as to whether he had acted 
 rightly in allowing himself to be reconverted.* 
 
 * John Hill Burton, who had gathered many interesting 
 traditions relating to eminent Scots, gave Sir Mountstuart 
 Grant Duff' some particulars about Boswell's change of faith.
 
 44 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [( ii. ii. 
 
 It is impossible not to be struck by the sincere and 
 earnest tone of his inquiries on the subject, and by 
 the way in which he pressed Johnson. 
 
 As a fact, Bos well had adopted no fewer than 
 three creeds. He was born and brought up a 
 member of the nativ^e Scotch Church ; this he aban- 
 doned for the Roman Catholic faith ; while after his 
 acquaintance with Johnson he fervently adopted 
 the Church of England. To this form he brought 
 with him some remnants of his Roman belief, but 
 these were its most important dogmas, such as 
 Transubstantiation, Prayers for the Dead, and a 
 
 The family sent Sir John Pringle to try and reconvert him, 
 on the ground of his worldly interests ; while, according to 
 other accounts, Baxter the divine was employed to work on his 
 religious instincts. Sir John urged forcibly that he would 
 forfeit all his prospects at the Bar, never be on the Bench, etc. 
 Bozzy urged that " he must think of his immortal soul." 
 " What !"" answered the Baronet, " Why, sir, anyone with 
 the smallest particle of gentlemanly feeling would rather be 
 damned to all eternity than give his relations such trouble 
 as you are doing."" In the Life there are various allusions 
 to Sir John, whom Bozzy seemed to regard with a certain 
 respect and awe. On the visit to Auchinleck he charged 
 Johnson to make no allusion to Sir John in presence of 
 the old Judge. One would think it would have been a 
 welcome subject, owing to the obligations the family had to 
 Sir John. But it may be that here was one of Bozzy's 
 artful devices. For awkward would it be, assuming that 
 Johnson had not been informed of his conversion, had the 
 old Judge broken out with, " Ah, mon, he was the chiel that 
 brought back Jamie from the delusions o' Popery !" A not 
 unlikely speculation.
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 45 
 
 sort of belief in Purgatory ; so that he may be 
 considered a High Churchman of our day. 
 
 This element of Roman Catholicism entered far 
 more deeply into his relations with Johnson than 
 would be supposed. The pair were both earnestly 
 sympathetic to the " old religion." Johnson was 
 talked of as half a Papist ; Boswell had been one. It 
 is extraordinary that in all the Sage's voluminous 
 " Prayers and Meditations " we can hardly come on 
 a prayer of a genuinely Protestant pattern. 
 
 In only one place, one of his letters, does Boswell 
 give a hint of his old creed. Speaking of his friend- 
 ship for Temple, the very thought of whom soothed 
 his unhappiness, " His friendship I have tried, and 
 found constant for more than half my life, and 
 whose worth my Popish imagination cannot help 
 somehow viewing with sympathy." But in number- 
 less rather artful passages he contrived little adroit 
 pleadings for what was at his heart — pleadings 
 which would be more significant than any of his 
 quotations. 
 
 In his notes on Johnson's alterations of the 
 sheets of the " Lives of the Poets," we find Bos- 
 well warmly defending Dryden from the illiberal 
 attacks on his change of religion, "as if his 
 embracing of the Koman Catholic communion had 
 been a time-serving measure." Then he adds that 
 " he himself has given such a picture of the mind, 
 that they who know the anxiety for repose as to
 
 A6 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [( h. n. 
 
 the awful subject of our state beyond the grave, 
 tliough they may think his opinion ill-founded, 
 must tliink charitably of his sentiment." 
 
 Here speaks Boswell for himself. And what a 
 significant passage it is, how full of genuine reli- 
 gious feeling ! " The anxiety for repose as to the 
 a^\'ful subject of our state beyond the grave" — there, 
 surely, is a note of anxious struggle and of some 
 deep-lying feeling whence he seemed to be striving 
 to fight his way to the truth. 
 
 I am afraid — and reluctant also to say it — that 
 the rather artful strain that w^as in Bozzy's nature 
 was exhibited in his steadfastly concealing from 
 Dr. Johnson his Catholic antecedents and Cathohc 
 tendencies. And yet he might have confided in 
 him, and it would not have lowered him in the 
 Sage's view if he had once thus lapsed. But 
 neither by statement nor hint of any kind did 
 he tell the public that he had once been a member 
 of the Church. He dared not. What would the 
 Club have said ? — what his readers ? And yet 
 all the time he salved his scruples by showing 
 sympathy for and by pleading for " Romanist " 
 doctrines. And he used to astonish Johnson by 
 enthusiastic outbursts of a " Romish " sort, as 
 when he proposed to make a sort of pilgrimage 
 to Chester Cathedral. 
 
 Johnson's own feelings towards the Roman 
 Church are well known, even if we make large
 
 CH. ii.J STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 47 
 
 allowance for his " talk " in opposition to others. 
 He could defend all its doctrines seriatim on one 
 occasion ; on another would roughly scout the 
 doctrine of the Real Presence as unscriptural. 
 This was the Protestant or anti-Papal mood, which 
 came on him tempestuously. That Church was 
 at the time in so pariah-like a condition, so low 
 and humiliated in England, that it could not be 
 known or appreciated by the reader or scholar. 
 But many who did not love Johnson were heard 
 to repeat that he was a Papist at heart. 
 
 Boswell later reported Johnson's striking declara- 
 tion on the " laceration of mind " that attends for- 
 saking the Catholic Church. True, he seems to find 
 a sort of soothing comfort in Johnson's occasional 
 hostile denunciations, and this would naturally 
 fortify him in his change of faith. At the 
 close of one of the religious discussions, Bos- 
 well, quite unexpectedly, confides to the reader 
 that he is a firm believer in the doctrine of 
 the Real Presence. This was a bold thing to 
 confess in those days, when hardly any in the 
 Church of England held such behef ; but it shows 
 that our chronicler still clung to this great 
 fragment of his former temporary faith. He 
 also had a hankering after " vows " and monastic 
 disciphne, and clung to the doctrine of "the middle 
 state." In truth, every saying of Johnson's in favour 
 of " the religion " is recorded by Boswell with a
 
 48 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [< h. ii. 
 
 secret relisli. He even goes out of his way to call 
 attention to a fervent declaration of Johnson's 
 in reference to a clergyman who had given up good 
 preferment to join the Roman Catholic faith: "God 
 Almighty bless him !" 
 
 Boswell, after " drawing " his friend on the sub- 
 ject of Roman Catholic doctrines, one after another, 
 makes a sort of apology : 
 
 " I have thus ventured to mention all the 
 common objections against the Roman Catholic 
 Church, that I might hear so great a man upon 
 the subject. I must mention that he had a respect 
 for the ' old religion,' as the mild INlelanchthon 
 calls it, even while he was exerting himself for its 
 reformation in some particulars." 
 
 These are significant words, coming from the 
 converted and reconverted Boswell's lips. 
 
 At Ulva he exhibited another curious trait of 
 religious feeling. He mentions in his account that 
 he w^ent to dig a hole in a little ruined chapel, 
 in which he buried some bones. He did not, 
 however, tell Johnson what he was about. The 
 latter says : " Boswell, who is very pious, went 
 into it at night to perform his devotions." 
 
 His bantering friends must have been intensely 
 amused at these constant religious outpourings. 
 But he had no shyness or fear of laughter on these 
 matters, and his enthusiasm prevented his feeling 
 or know^ing how absurd he was. Still, in all his
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 49 
 
 follies he had sufficient conscience present to feel 
 that this religious feeling was superficial, because 
 opposed to his practice. Religious impressions 
 and religious readings are wretched rags — nay, 
 snares even — if not supported by active practice. 
 When one morning, in a sort of rapture, he was 
 telling Johnson that he felt so good and so full 
 of pious feeling, the Sage warned him : " Beware, 
 sir, of impressions." Like the Catholic, he relied 
 much on '• outward things," as Thomas a Kempis 
 calls them, to increase devotion ; praying fervently 
 under their influence. It should be remembered, too, 
 that Johnson did not discourage him in these prac- 
 tices. It is but just to Boswell to say that he never 
 lost an opportunity of marking his public support 
 of religion. For instance, speaking of Langton's 
 appointment at the Academy, he calls him " that 
 truly religious gentleman," elected at the same time 
 with Gibbon, who was " noted for introducing a 
 kind of sneering infidelity into his writings." It is 
 characteristic that he adds : "I am also of that 
 admirable institution as Secretary of Foreign Corre- 
 spondence, by the favour of the Academicians and 
 the approbation of the Sovereign." When Langton 
 somewhat indiscreetly introduces sacred topics in a 
 mixed company, his friend takes care to report 
 Johnson's severe reproof. Of orthodoxy Boswell 
 was, indeed, a vehement champion. What modern 
 writer, in a book of recollections or mcinoirs, would 
 
 4
 
 50 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [< h. ii. 
 
 venliirc to boast that he had gone out and "re- 
 ceived the Sacrament," or would give an account 
 of all he felt on the occasion ? 
 
 BoswelFs feelings of piety were much excited 
 by his visit to the sacred shrine of lona. It is 
 almost touching to see how this good soul was 
 affected : " I left him and Sir Allan at breakfast 
 in our barn, and stole back to the cathedral to 
 indulge in solitude and devout meditation while 
 contemplating the venerable ruins. I reflected 
 with much satisfaction that the solemn scenes of 
 piety never lose their sanctity and influence, though 
 the cares and follies of life prevent our visiting 
 them, or may even make us fancy that their effects 
 are only ' as yesterday when it is past,' and never 
 again to be perceived. I hoped that ever after 
 having been in this holy place I should maintain 
 an exemplary conduct. One has a strange pro- 
 pensity to fix upon some point of time from 
 whence a better course of life may begin." Poor 
 Bozzy ! 
 
 There was a professional guide to take them 
 round lona, but Bozzy resolved to slip away and 
 see what was to be seen by himself, so as to be un- 
 disturbed, and thus " receive the general impression 
 of solemn antiquity, and the particular ideas of 
 such objects as should strike my imagination." 
 
 How natural and unaffected is this confession 
 given to the general reader ! Genuine it was —
 
 cH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 51 
 
 for the moment, at least. Alas ! he was too 
 soon to relapse. Here we see his ancient Roman 
 feelings reviving. We feel that under all these 
 misgivings and heart-searchings there is a vague 
 tendency to the confessional. As he was not 
 prepared for this, he must at least confess to the 
 reader, and make profession of amendment ! 
 
 It has been said, of course, that Johnson at 
 times entirely rejected certain doctrines, such as 
 Transubstantiation, and spoke roughly of the 
 Church ; but this was according to his humour : 
 and as death approached, he did not seem to draw 
 nearer. But still, when we think how unrecog- 
 nized, how almost non-existent for the general com- 
 munity, was the Roman faith, Johnson's interest 
 in it was extraordinary. There are two utterances 
 in this connection which seem to me of the greatest 
 significance from what they imply : the blessing 
 he invoked on the already mentioned clergyman, 
 Mr. Chamberlain, who gave up everything to join 
 the faith ; and also the profound remark as to 
 the difference between conversions to Popery and 
 from Popery. A vast deal seems [enclosed within 
 those deliverances. 
 
 On one occasion Boswell announced that he was 
 thinking of publishing a Life of Sir R. Sibbald, who 
 also had become a Roman Catholic, but later 
 returned to his original faith, owing to the diffi- 
 culty of fasting. Mrs. Thrale advised him to
 
 52 FIRST MOTOR TORCE [( ii. ii. 
 
 leave the project alone : " To discover such weak- 
 nesses exposes a man." '"Nay," said Johnson, "it 
 is an honest picture of human nature ;" and he 
 urged that there were instances of other great 
 changes due to motives as petty as in Sibbald's 
 case. Boswell thought it " a very curious life," 
 and no wonder, for it exactly described the varia- 
 tions of his own. Nay, we may guess that the 
 reason he " reverted " was the same also — that 
 he found the restraint too much for his love of 
 pleasure. He must have been amused as they 
 talked, knowing all that he did. 
 
 In one of their discussions the Doctor men- 
 tioned the objections to Transubstantiation, but 
 Boswell earnestly defended the doctrine. He 
 added the solemn comment : " This is an awful 
 subject, nor shall I now enter on a disquisition 
 upon the import of those words uttered by the 
 Saviour which had such an effect upon many of 
 His disciples that they went back and walked no 
 more with Him." 
 
 Boswell's case was on a curious footing. It is 
 clear that his original membership had left a deep 
 mark — not so much from the doctrines which he 
 held as from the tone and fashion of his mind and 
 thought, which are recognizable by any member of 
 that faith. For the initiated it is unmistakable. 
 The struggle which poor Bozzy maintained through 
 his life with his vices — now temporarily successful.
 
 — ^^' 
 
 H ^-
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 53 
 
 now worse than before — is one familiar to all 
 Roman confessors, who strive by the Sacraments to 
 furnish greater strength. In Protestant Churches, 
 the voluptuary often succumbs without any scruple, 
 and little help can be furnished save from himself 
 or the reading of the Scriptures. 
 
 Sin Boswell could resist but fitfully ; and so he 
 devised a system of religious feelings and impres- 
 sions, fortified by reading Ogden's sermons. By con- 
 stant pressure he obtained from Johnson a solemn 
 pronouncement that pious aspirations were not 
 inconsistent with sinful failings. This lent Bozzy 
 great comfort. Johnson, who was not much of a 
 theologian, gave his friend but dubious advice in 
 this matter. There was nothing inconsistent, he 
 said, between pious talk and vicious practice. 
 So Boswell took it that both courses could be fol- 
 lowed together. But, as I said, does not this show 
 how eager was Boswell to " save his soul," and how 
 much piety was in his thoughts beyond all other 
 subjects ? And so he rose and fell — and rose and 
 fell again — until the day came when he lost his 
 friend and adviser, when he fell finally, and never 
 seems to have risen again. He found the struggle 
 too troublesome and painful, and so "gave in." 
 We can understand the point of his question to 
 Johnson as to whether a previous attempt at a good 
 life would stand to one's credit, or would death 
 following on sin destroy all previous " good marks "?
 
 54 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [cu. ii. 
 
 He was told that God Almighty ivould not take a 
 ccilcli of hini.'" But how could Johnson know? 
 
 The whole character of Bozzy's religious equip- 
 ment is best illustrated by what occurred on a visit 
 to the Dillys. Here there was abundance of excel- 
 lent fare and hearty welcome, so Boswell was in high 
 good-humour. He arrived on Saturday evening, 
 and on Sunday the whole party attended church. 
 It was a display of piety in force, and one cannot 
 help thinking that he wished to make a public 
 display ; for, " It being the first Sunday of the 
 month, June 3, the Holy Sacrament was adminis- 
 tered, and I stayed to partake of it." Bozzy was 
 evidently proud of what he had done, and a little 
 elated. Johnson noticed it, and praised him : " Jie 
 had not thought of it." Bozzy had been travelling 
 all the day before, and probably had a jovial night, 
 when the notion seems to have occurred to him 
 of a sudden ; for he is tempted to give a sort of 
 homily to his readers, as though it might have 
 occurred to them that the Doctor, not having duly 
 prepared himself, was scarcely ready to rush to the 
 altar. On which Bozzy assures us that " good men 
 entertain different opinions on the point, some 
 holding that it is irreverent to partake of an 
 ordinance without considerable meditation ; others, 
 that whoever is a sincere Christian and in a proper 
 fiame of mind may," etc. "A middle notion I 
 believe to be a just one ; a long train of preparatory
 
 CH. ii.J STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 55 
 
 forms was not necessary. But neither should 
 they hghtly and rashly venture upon so awful and 
 mysterious an institute." Admirable preaching ! 
 
 We can imagine the success of this exhibition, the 
 congregation, it may be, asking " Who was the stout 
 gentleman that went up ?" They were told it was 
 Mr. James Boswell, the famous Dr. Johnson's fol- 
 lower ! After breakfast, excited and in a state of 
 pious elation, Bozzy proceeded to "outpour himself" 
 to his friend. " Being in a frame of mind," he tells us, 
 ''which I hope for the felicity of human nature many 
 experience — in fine weather — at the country house of 
 a friend, consoled and elevated by pious exercises " 
 — what a jumble of things : fine weather and 
 piety ! — " I expressed myself with unrestrained 
 fervour to my guide, philosopher, and friend : ' My 
 dear sir, I would fain be a good man, and / am very 
 good now. I fear God and honour the King. I 
 wish to do no ill, and to be benevolent to all man- 
 kind.' " Johnson took all this folly good-humouredly, 
 and gave him some sound advice : " ' Do not, sir, 
 accustom yourself to trust to impressions.' There 
 is a middle state of mind between hypocrisy and 
 conviction. He pointed out that at last you may 
 become their slaves. Favourable impressions as 
 to the state of the soul are deceitful. In general, 
 no man can be sure of his acceptance with God. 
 In other words, practical action — doing, not feeling 
 — is the true outcome of genuine piety."
 
 56 riHST MOTOR FORCE [en. ii. 
 
 Ill this strange scene we find a perfect picture 
 of Boswell as he chose to present himself to the 
 reader. Now, in all his varying moods and humours, 
 was there ever such a faithful portrayal of an 
 eccentric being? It is clear it was all set down 
 tliat very night, as every touch is fresh and vivid. 
 But who is the chief performer? Not Johnson, 
 certainly ; all attention is in\ited to Mr. Boswell. 
 We have to follow all the fitful changes of his 
 meteoric soul. Why, on the point that languor suc- 
 ceeds excess of gaiety, he should appeal to " many 
 even of my fair readers " is best known to himself. 
 It at all events furnishes him wdth a " cue," for he 
 goes off at once on his favourite topic of success in 
 love. This, in a highly significant way, points to 
 what was ever the dominant note of his character — 
 that is, to the exquisite pleasure of being in love with 
 someone. He was then supremely happy. Like 
 Sterne, he " must ever have some Dulcinea in his 
 head." The letters to Temple prove this con- 
 vincingly. 
 
 Speaking of Gibbon, Boswell once more intro- 
 duced his favourite topic. He had been, he said, 
 an Oxonian, and was remembered there for having 
 " turned Papist " (here a shade of sympathy is 
 implied by his putting within marks of quota- 
 tion the two w^ords, as though they were a vulgar, 
 disrespectful form). " I observed that, as he had 
 changed several times from the Church of England
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 57 
 
 to the Church of Rome, from the Church of Rome 
 to infideUty, I did not despair of seeing him a 
 Methodist." Here again he must have been 
 secretly enjoying Johnson's ignorance of his own 
 variations. 
 
 There is a passage in his book where he makes 
 an almost frantic profession of faith, so comic, in 
 fact, that it would seem to have been set down 
 under other influences than those of religious zeal. 
 But he fancied that he was thus fortifying himself 
 in his principles, even though there was laxity in 
 applying them. 
 
 "If a man firmly believes that religion is an 
 invaluable treasure, he will consider a writer who 
 endeavours to deprive mankind of it as a rohher ; 
 he will look upon him as odious, though the infidel 
 might think liimself in the right. ... An abandoned 
 profligate may think that it is not wrong to debauch 
 my wife, but shall I, therefore, not detest him ? 
 And if I catch him in making an attempt, shall I 
 treat him with politeness ? No, I will kick him 
 downstairs, or run him through the body — tJiat is, 
 if I really love my wife, or have a true rational 
 notion of honour. ... I do declare, however, that 1 
 am exceedingly unwilling to be provoked to anger, 
 and could I be persuaded that truth would not 
 suffer from a cool moderation in its defenders, I 
 should wish to preserve good-humour, at least, in 
 every controversy ; nor, indeed, do I see why a
 
 58 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [( ii. ii. 
 
 man should lose his temper while he does all he 
 can to refute an opponent. I think ridicule may be 
 fairly used against an infidel ; for instance, if he be 
 an ugly fellow, and yet absurdly vain of his person, 
 we may contrast his appearance with Cicero's 
 beautiful image of Virtue could she be seen." 
 
 When we think that all this was out of place, 
 and had no connection with the narrative, which 
 it disturbed and interrupted, we shall see that 
 Bozzy's strong religious feeling obliged him to 
 bring it forward at any sacrifice. For after intro- 
 ducing and critically praising Johnson's poem, " The 
 Vanity of Human Wishes," he might have passed 
 to his other works. But the good Boswell, who 
 was enthusiastic over its fine religious strain, 
 cannot resist introducing one splendid religious 
 passage — a wholesome sermon that might do good 
 to his readers ; and he assures us, in a reverential 
 passage, " were all the other excellencies of the 
 poem annihilated, it must ever have our grateful 
 reverence from its noble conclusion, in which we 
 are consoled with the assurance that happiness 
 may be attained if we apply our hearts to piety." 
 
 This, again, is hors de propos, but he could not 
 resist the opportunity. 
 
 " Where, then, shall hope and fear their objects find ? 
 Shall dull suspense corrupt the stagnant mind ? 
 Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate, 
 Roll darkly down the torrent of his fate ?
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 59 
 
 Enthusiast, cease ; petitions yet remain 
 
 Which Heaven may hear ; nor deem religion vain. 
 
 Still raise for good the supplicating voice, 
 
 But leave to Heaven the measure and the choice. 
 
 Safe in His hand whose eye discerns afar 
 
 The secret ambush of a specious prayer. 
 
 Yet when the sense of sacred presence fires, 
 
 And strong devotion to the skies aspires. 
 
 Pour forth thy fervours for a healthful mind, 
 
 Obedient passions of a will resigned. 
 
 ***** 
 These goods for man the laws of Heaven ordain ; 
 These goods He grants, who grants the power to gain." 
 
 Noble words, indeed — and a revelation. 
 
 There are other minor touches which betray his 
 feehng. He speaks of a monk who was hospitable 
 to Johnson in Paris, and who afterwards came 
 to London, where he received recommendations 
 from Johnson. It is curious and significant that 
 Boswell, who collected facts about everybody, 
 should not mention that this person had joined the 
 Church of England, and wished to get forward in it 
 as a profession. He must have heard of so unusual a 
 thing as a " conversion " of a " Romish " monk who 
 was the friend of his friend. I fancy there was the 
 old leaven here — and a secret disapproval. 
 
 It may be somewhat paradoxical to find a con- 
 nection between these strong religious feelings 
 and a longing to reach a high position in the world. 
 There can be no doubt that all through his life 
 religion was with him a momentous factor. He
 
 60 FIRST MOTOR FORCE [ch. ii. 
 
 never lost liold of his piety, or iillowed it to be 
 ■wholly siibnicrged in earthly matters. He may 
 be said ne\ er to have lost his faith, though he did 
 fail in morals and discipline and restraint. This 
 \vas one of the links that bound him strongly to 
 Johnson. Transubstantiation, vows, an indulgent 
 partiality for the monastic state, veneration for 
 sacred places, love of ritualism, pious reasonings — 
 these were the links. Both he and Johnson read 
 and loved " The Imitation of Christ." From 
 Johnson, therefore, and his talks and counsel he 
 drew a fountain of piety ; but Johnson spent all 
 his efforts to teach him practical conduct, without 
 which lip-piety is a mere delusion. 
 
 Bozzy was quite conscious of the grotesque 
 antagonism between his practice and his phantom 
 pietism, and of the ridicule it brought. His laxity, 
 to speak mildly, was only too notorious, and to see 
 the friend of the abandoned Wilkes, his admirer 
 and boon companion, taking Ogden out of his 
 pocket and offering to read a chapter must have 
 been greeted with irreverent laughter. Poor Bozzy 
 struggled to reform, but could not shake himself 
 free. Yet he never loosed his hold. He felt all 
 the time that he had true faith, and that he intended 
 to do right, but could not. He would show the 
 world outside that the scoffers were all wrong, that 
 he was decent and respectable, and was not 
 ashamed of his belief And he would proclaim
 
 CH. II.] STRONG RELIGIOUS FEELING 61 
 
 openly that he tried to do good, but was drawn 
 after evil. His great book should plead for him, 
 should show him to be a solid, thoughtful, studious 
 man — a man ever anxious to know and to learn, a 
 man whose temper and patience had been sorely 
 tried by weaknesses which made him seem some- 
 thing of a libertine ; but this was the weakness of 
 the flesh, where he found himself helpless. True, 
 this is a rather pitiful combination, but I have not 
 the least doubt that poor Bozzy was sincerely reli- 
 gious, or wished to be so, and clung conscientiously 
 to his faith. Nothing ever shook that, yet he could 
 not repel an agreeable or attractive infidel. With 
 this view of " testifying " he carried his Ogden 
 in his pocket, and was ready at any moment or in 
 any unsuitable company to produce it. 
 
 The reader will be rather surprised to find what 
 a large area in Boswell's mind was covered by this 
 topic of religion, and what a force it must be counted 
 when we are dealing with his character. In this 
 important matter he was not satisfied. He was 
 uneasy in his mind, but saw no way to settlement 
 of the matter he had at heart. With this feeling 
 he called in Johnson's aid, and made him expound 
 and preach to him. And he tells it all to the reader. 
 
 There is only space to " adumbrate," as it were, 
 this most interesting question, which seems to me 
 to throw quite a new light on Bozzy 's character — 
 usually supposed to be frivolous and volatile.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SECOND MOTOR FORCE — LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 
 
 We next come to another portion of Boswell's 
 mechanism for building up his importance and 
 supremacy. There was a Httle insidiousness in 
 his method, and it was so cleverly disguised that, 
 like so many other matters, it has completely 
 escaped the notice of official commentators. For 
 them, as for all the world, he was the adoring, 
 grovelling, all-suffering Bozzy, and the great Sage 
 was " the god of his idolatry " ; yet who thinks that 
 all the time he was craftily depreciating him, lessen- 
 ing the value of his grand utterances ? Much of 
 this vilipending was unconscious or instinctive, and 
 was due to his being unable to stifle his pleasure 
 in pointing out mistakes or faults. But to point 
 out mistakes and faults in the great Johnson him- 
 self was too exquisite a pleasure. And what an 
 elevation of himself— the flouted Bozzy — in the 
 eyes of the public, that the detection should come 
 from him ! The reflection would surely be : "Why, 
 he knows more than his master !" 
 
 This may seem a startling and perhaps an un- 
 
 62
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 63 
 
 gracious thing to say when we think of the 
 follower's known devotion ; but it was only in- 
 directly that he made these attempts, with a view 
 to asserting his own supremacy. There is hardly a 
 page in which he does not dispute Johnson's own 
 views in his actual presence ; and when away from 
 the awe of his presence, he sets down boldly that 
 he cannot agree, and that here his illustrious friend 
 is altogether astray. 
 
 Nothing did he relish more than correcting the 
 great man — that is, after he was gone and could 
 not vindicate his statement. This he does again 
 and again. In many cases, when it was quite safe, 
 he stood up boldly to him ; and after being 
 silenced he seemed to grumble. Another part of 
 his system was the exhibition of Johnson in some 
 inferior situation, or when someone had got the 
 better of him. These practices were pursued from 
 the beginning of the book to the last page, when 
 almost his last personal criticism of his chief was a 
 pointed and resentful attack on his generally unfair 
 treatment of himself personally. All through he 
 had thus corrected or disputed with him, striving 
 to insinuate that, though not as capable a being, 
 he still had capacity enough to convict him of 
 blemishes. 
 
 I expect, of course, it will be remarked how un- 
 generous it is to gather together all such unkind 
 things of the amiable Bos well, whom we so love,
 
 64 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [( ii. m. 
 
 and wlio has furnished us with so much entertain- 
 ment. " xVn attack " it will he called, the more 
 unkind because it comes from a friendly hand 
 and a devoted admirer, who all through his long life 
 has been proclaiming his praise — writing his life, 
 editing, defending, etc. But all this is in the nature 
 of inquiry, nor is it to be taken an grand seiienx. 
 Bozzy we look on as privileged and irresponsible, 
 and as a great " human document." He seems 
 to be one of the characters in the old comedy. Nor 
 was he a free being, but the creature of his passions 
 and humours. Finally, this is a powerful factor in 
 the argument I am pressing, and it cannot be 
 spared. 
 
 I do not wish to say that Boswell set himself 
 deliberately to the work of minimizing or diminish- 
 ing the value of the Doctor's authority. But he 
 could not resist the tendency to criticize, and to 
 prove that he knew much more than Johnson was 
 presumed to know, and that on due consideration 
 he had found that there were weak places in his 
 friend's statements. And he applied the same 
 system of correction to everyone : though he did 
 not, in short, admit of any " cruel spite " ; but 
 he was born, commissioned as it were — or as 
 he fancied he was — " to set it right." I am thus 
 only attempting to carry out an analysis of his 
 very curious, fluctuating, and interesting character. 
 
 Here is a most characteristic instance of
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 65 
 
 Boswell's turning some indifferent allusion to the 
 setting forth of his own personality. Johnson in 
 speaking of melancholy used the words " vexing 
 thoughts." His friend must show that he knew as 
 much and more of these " vexing thoughts " (happy 
 words — but which Johnson used merely " in pass- 
 ing "). Boswell in a note stops to tell us that he 
 thought the phrase " very expressive " — and so it is. 
 "It has been familiar to me from my childhood, for 
 it is to be found in the Psalms in metre used in 
 the churches of Scotland (I believe I should say 
 'kirk')." Then the whole strophe is quoted. 
 
 Readers may wonder why our author should thus 
 admire so superfluously ; but we may assume that it 
 is autobiographical evidence of his gift of criticism 
 upon a point where Johnson was to be shown 
 deficient. But he goes on further : "Some allowance 
 must no doubt be made for early prepossession." As 
 though a reader must be interested to know that 
 the version was actually sung by Boswell lui-mSme ! 
 Still, he must say something more, and " rule " the 
 case ; so, " at a maturer period of life, after looking 
 at various metrical versions," he is constrained to 
 say : " I am well satisfied that the version used in 
 Scotland is upon the whole the best, and that it is 
 vain to think of having a better. It has in general 
 a simplicity and unction of sacred poetry, and in 
 many parts its transference is admirable." Surely 
 this "rigmarole," as he called one of Hawkins's 
 
 5
 
 66 SKCOND MOTOR FORCE [t-ir. iii. 
 
 criticisms, is utterly uncalled for in the Life of 
 a friend. 
 
 Another incident that he records proves in an 
 almost convincing way how he held himself forth 
 as the chief and most important personage in the 
 Scotch adventure. Here there is a pleasant tone of 
 patronizing : "' I found his [Johnson's] journey the 
 common topic of conversation at this time, wherever 
 I happened to be. At one of Lord Mansfield's 
 formal Sunday evening conversations — strangely 
 called ' levees ' — his lordship addressed me : ' We 
 have all been reading your travels, Mr. BoswelL' I 
 answered : ' I was but the humble attendant of 
 Dr. Johnson.' The Chief Justice replied with that 
 air and manner which none who ever saw and 
 heard him can forget : ' He speaks ill of nobody 
 but Ossian.' " The mixture of lavish compliment 
 here, the homage paid himself, the graciousness of 
 the noble lord, with Bozzy's affected modesty, 
 make a truly amusing combination. 
 
 The Doctor was preparing a new edition of his 
 Dictionary, when his friend put in his oar, as it is 
 called, and suggested a correction. " I put him 
 in mind of a meaning of the word ' side ' which he 
 had omitted — viz., relationshipT He inserted it. 
 " He would not admit * civilization,' but only 
 ' civihty.' With great deference to him, I thought 
 civilization, from to civilize, better." He then pro- 
 ceeds to argue the matter.
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 67 
 
 When the Doctor gave his friend an elaborate 
 " argument," several pages long, on the question 
 of lay patronage in the Scotch Church, the other 
 curtly dismissed it with this remark : " Though I 
 present my readers with Dr. Johnson's masterly 
 thoughts on the subject, / think it proper to declare 
 that, notwithstanding I am myself a lay patron, I 
 do not entirely subscribe to his opinion." 
 
 On Johnson writing an epitaph in Latin for 
 Goldsmith, Boswell disapproved. He was for 
 English, and not Latin. As it was, he criticized it 
 severely. It was not " sufficiently discriminative ; 
 applying to him the title Historian, Poet, and 
 Physicist was surely not right." He had little claim 
 to the last. He then demolishes the poor poet. 
 
 Johnson had written papers for a friend who took 
 all the credit for them. Bozzy deals severely with 
 this action of his chief : " I am not quite satisfied 
 with the casuistry by which the productions of one 
 person are thus passed upon the world for the pro- 
 ductions of another." " Casuistry " was a rather 
 strong word to apply to his leader. 
 
 Johnson having declared of a great French 
 preacher that " nobody reads him," Bozzy in a 
 note rather excitedly dissents : " I take leave to 
 enter my strongest protest against this judgment. 
 Bossuet / hold to be one of the first luminaries of 
 religion and literature. If there are those who do 
 not read him, it is full time they should begin."
 
 68 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [on. in. 
 
 Johnson objected to rhetoric and its action, and 
 abused it. Boswell " thought it extraordinary that 
 he should deny its power upon human nature when 
 it is proved by innumerable facts in all states of 
 society." Reasonable beings are not solely beings; 
 they have fancies which may be pleased, passions 
 which may be roused. 
 
 Johnson had said that a host who invited one for a 
 week became a slave for a week. Boswell objected 
 that there were hosts who made it a home for the 
 guest. He then adds a rather disrespectful rebuke : 
 " Here he discovered a notion common enough in 
 persons not accustomed to entertain company, that 
 there must be a degree of attention ; otherwise 
 company will think themselves neglected ; and such 
 attention is, no doubt, very fatiguing." This is 
 a hint that his patron was not exactly the man of 
 the world that he was presumed to be. On a 
 question of copyright he admitted that Dr. John- 
 son's observations had been good, " yet I am afraid 
 that the law is not altogether with him." Then 
 follows an elaborate legal argument. " But in my 
 letter to the people of Scotland there is the follow- 
 ing passage — a concise, and I hope fair and rational, 
 state of the matter." 
 
 He is always careful to record how often Johnson 
 had to withdraw or apologize for some rude state- 
 ment, as in the case of Dr. Percy, Goldsmith, 
 Dr. Bernard, Boswell himself, and many more.
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 69 
 
 Of course there was an honest generosity in this, 
 such as one would expect from the Doctor, but it is 
 a rather undignified attitude. It may be said that 
 Bozzy never spares his great friend nor bates a word. 
 It will be seen, as we go along, that Boswell's clear 
 intention in setting out these corrections of Johnson 
 is not to make formal statement, but to leave an 
 impression, or an accuinulation of impressions, 
 which the reader is unable to resist. His scheme 
 was thus a steady and persistent system of cor- 
 rection and dissent, with continued opposition : so 
 that at last it is conveyed that Mr. Boswell, and not 
 Dr. Johnson, was really the controlling and superior 
 destiny of the whole — that Johnson was constantly 
 falling into mistakes which he (Boswell) was able to 
 set right, or at least boldly dissent from, and that, 
 though the Sage might " thunder away " and storm 
 and ridicule, Boswell was generally right as to the 
 facts. Not that we can believe that such a state of 
 things actually occurred at the moment, for Boswell 
 was not so well equipped or " primed " as to be able 
 to set his chief right on the spot. He had the 
 obvious advantage of setting out his own share in 
 the discussions at his leisure, and after making 
 proper examination. He could thus at his ease 
 measure deliberately all that Johnson had laid 
 down. The accuracy of his historical illustrations 
 he could test leisurely by turning to the works of 
 reference upon his shelves. It would not be diffi-
 
 70 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [( u. m. 
 
 cult for him. thus reinforced, to find his friend 
 occasionally tripping, and thus make a show of 
 superior knowledge. There is one instance of this 
 method so typical of the rest that I may intro- 
 duce it here. As an illustration the Doctor had 
 quoted the fact that, though the King of Siam had 
 sent an embassy to Louis XIV, the latter did not 
 return the compliment. On which Boswell takes 
 care to point out to us that Johnson was wrong or 
 ignorant, and that such a return embassy was sent. 
 This, however, he did not say to Johnson, for he 
 did not know it at the moment. It is clear, though 
 he does not admit it, that he looked the matter up 
 years later, when he was putting his notes into 
 shape. Had he known at the time, he would have 
 deferentially corrected : " But, sir, are you certain ? 
 1 have read in Voltaire's History," etc. It would 
 have been a feather in his cap. It seems to me 
 that there is something a little disloyal in this. 
 How easy to have passed the mistake over ! But 
 no ! he must show that he knew more of history 
 than the great man. People would not pause to 
 think that he (Boswell) had " looked the point up." 
 We may take it as certain that Boswell adopted 
 this system of " looking up " his facts in numbers 
 of cases : for it is impossible that he should have 
 been so well prepared with encyclopaedic knowledge 
 as he appears to be on many occasions. 
 
 Boswell has recorded his admiration of the "Lives
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 71 
 
 of the Poets," a work justly considered one of the 
 classics of the language ; indeed, few critical works 
 have been more admired. But we find him actually 
 rash enough to boldly criticize Johnson's incom- 
 parable judgment, taking objection to many things, 
 rebuking him for not admiring certain writers, and 
 all this at full length, as though he were a court of 
 revision ! This almost seems like effrontery. He 
 points out that Johnson had made a serious mistake 
 when he said that Pope had no noblemen friends 
 of character, excepting Lord Bathurst. " Johnson 
 should have recollected thscl Lord Marchmont was one 
 of Pope's noble friends." Johnson made a further 
 mistake when he charged this nobleman and Lord 
 Bolingbroke with neglecting Pope's papers, etc., 
 " whereas, as I myself pointed out to him before he 
 wrote that poet's life, the papers were not left in 
 Lord Marchmont's hands. Malone made in his 
 hearing the same objection, whose love of justice is 
 equal to his accuracy ; yet he omitted to correct the 
 erroneous statement." Thus he " rubbed it in " 
 with complete gusto. In the Life of Parnell he 
 "wondered that Johnson omitted to insert an 
 epitaph," etc. Lyttelton was condemned by John- 
 son for thanking a reviewer for some praises, but 
 Bozzy defended him. In the same Life, Johnson 
 omitted a passage referring to the death of his wife. 
 Boswell rebukes him : " I should have thought that 
 Johnson, who had felt the severe affliction from
 
 72 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [rii. ii\. 
 
 which rarncU never reeovered, would have pre- 
 served this passage." 
 
 \\^ith some pride Bos well had sent Johnson his 
 Latin thesis on being called to the Bar. To his sur- 
 prise, he received in return quite a list of blunders. 
 Bozzy sent him a complete vindication, with chapter 
 and verse — that is, passages from classical writers 
 with the same presumed mistakes. Johnson must 
 have been confounded, for he did not reply. It 
 must have been with some triumph that Boswell was 
 able to dispose of Johnson's objections to his thesis. 
 Johnson seems to have been astray in omnibus^ but 
 it may be suspected that Bozzy had called a council 
 of the Latin Professors, w^ho were delighted to 
 find blemishes in the great Doctor's Latin. The 
 exposure was, however, unkind.* 
 
 " I could with pleasure expatiate on the life of 
 Dryden," he says : but e?i passant calls attention to 
 one fact : " It may indeed be observed that in all the 
 numerous writings of Johnson, even in his tragedy, 
 in which the subject is the distress of an unfortunate 
 Princess, tJiere is not a single passage that ever drew 
 a tear /" It " gave him much pleasure to observe " 
 that the Sage allowed merit to Young. " He was 
 
 * It is interesting to have before me, as I have now, 
 Bozzy's own special copy, nicely printed and bound. It is 
 also curious to have in my hand, as I have, Dr. Cheyne's 
 book on " Low Spirits " — the very copy which Bozzy had 
 in his library, and which he consulted so despairingly for 
 his malady.
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 73 
 
 most anxious concerning the ' Night Thoughts,' 
 which I esteem as a mass of the grandest and richest 
 poetry that human genius has ever produced." 
 Then he goes on to tell us, " there is in it a power of 
 the pathetic beyond almost any example that I have 
 ever seen." He further decreed that " if there v^as 
 one who did not feel his nerves shaken and his 
 heart pierced, he must be of a hard and obstinate 
 frame." Yet this censure applied to the Sage. 
 
 It will seem a strange thing to those who have 
 so long admired the Boswellian devotion to John- 
 son, to find that he was all the time disputing or 
 refuting his patron's views and affirming his own. 
 
 Boswell, while furnishing Johnson's critical 
 opinions of great writers, constantly dissents and 
 gives his own. He emphasizes his position as 
 general comptroller on every occasion ; indeed, his 
 own opinions are forthcoming whether in assent or 
 dissent. Thus, after quoting his leader's disapproval 
 of Churchill, he tells us — " In this depreciation of 
 Churchill's poetry I could not agree with him. 
 But Churchill had extraordinary vigour both of 
 thought and expression.'" This last is a rather 
 smart satirical stroke. And, again : " I take leave 
 to differ from him, having a very high estimation 
 of the powers of Dr. Swift." 
 
 One instance, at least, of Bozzy's self-exaltation 
 is a little suspicious, and seems to require corrobora- 
 tion. When they were at Inchkenneth, where there
 
 74 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [( it. iii. 
 
 was an inscription, and Mary Queen of Scots' 
 name, Johnson ciiallenged him to give a fitting 
 Latin quotation, and Bozzy instantly and luckily 
 thouglit of what .^^neas says on leaving Dido : 
 
 " Invitus, Regina, tuo de littore cessi.'" 
 
 Nothing could be more appropriate. But see 
 what it implies ! — a complete knowledge of the 
 '* yEneid "; for this is not one of the usual quoted 
 passages, but merely a bit of the narrative. 
 Then, what marvellous readiness — to have it in 
 his memory and produce it instantly ! No wonder 
 Johnson exclaimed, "Very well hit oif !" And so 
 it was. 1 fancy, without wishing to be hard on 
 Boswell, that w^hen the challenge was given, he 
 could not at the moment find anything, but that it 
 occurred to him later — resprit de Vescalier, in short. 
 And it was so apropos that he thought it a pity to 
 lose the credit of the suggestion. 
 
 AVhen Johnson explained that he did not allow 
 his servant to say he w^as " not at home " when he 
 really was, and justified it, Mr. Boswell adds : " I 
 am, however, satisfied that every servant of any 
 degree of intelligence understands saying his master 
 is not at home, not at all as the affirmation of a 
 fact," etc. 
 
 Again, Boswell takes care to correct his chief on 
 another classical question. The latter had described 
 Garrick as chaining the ocean and lashing the winds.
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 75 
 
 Boswell suggests that it should run, " lashing the 
 ocean and chaining the winds " ; Johnson, however, 
 could quote the Latin original. Boswell then, 
 without opposing, corrects him by appealing to the 
 Doctor's own translation of Juvenal : 
 
 " The waves he lashes, and enchains the winds." 
 
 He then tries to show on other grounds that his 
 view is the right one. And one is inclined to 
 agree with him. Boswell reports his " witty 
 saying " — and so it is — on Scotch education : " Their 
 learning was like bread in a besieged town : every 
 man gets a little , but no man a hellijfuV This is 
 racy of its author ; but Bozzy, in an odd fit of 
 propriety — it may have been from "sheer ignor- 
 ance " — made it, " no man gets a full meal.'" 
 
 His criticism of Johnson's criticisms, however, 
 runs to many pages, so it is difficult to give an idea, 
 without profuse quoting, of Bozzy 's lofty ex 
 cathedra style of dealing with his friend's work. 
 Thus, when the Doctor asserted that there were 
 no literati of any worth, he let the dictum pass 
 without objection. Johnson told him not to join 
 a tavern-club — at the Boar's Head. But his friend 
 dissents in a note : " I do not see why I might not 
 have been of this club without lessening my char- 
 acter." Hundreds of instances could be quoted of 
 this general system of depreciation, but I content 
 myself with giving a fair number. In all, the
 
 76 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [( h. ni. 
 
 coiK'lusioii is hinted that Dr. Johnson was rather 
 hasty in his facts and opinions, while Mr. Boswell 
 was e\ er the controlHng and directing power. 
 
 Again, speaking of the pernicious effect of the 
 " Beggar's Opera " in corrupting morals, he uses 
 the odd phrase, " the inefficiency of the piece in cor- 
 rupting society." Mr. Boswell dissents : " But 1 
 have ever thought somewhat differently." He 
 then proceeds to give his view, demolishing John- 
 son's argument: "though given in the ' Lives of the 
 Poets,' yet I own I should be very sorry to have it 
 suppressed." When the Doctor disapproved of his 
 using the phrase " make money," Boswell recorded 
 his dissent, as usual, not to his friend personally : 
 *' But the phrase is, I think, pretty current." 
 
 His objections were often of the boldest kind. 
 Johnson had declared that two people could not 
 join in writing an ode. Boswell pertly objected that 
 Beaumont and Fletcher had written plays together 
 — which was quite a different thing. Johnson 
 took no notice. He said that Mason was a bad 
 writer. The persistent Boswell urged : " Surely 
 ' Elfrida ' was a fine poem ; at least you will allow 
 there are some fine passages in it." Then he 
 wonders at Johnson's low estimate of the poet. 
 " Of Gray's poems / have expressed my high ojmiion ; 
 for Mason's I have ever entertained a warm ad- 
 miration. I have read them with pleasure, and no 
 criticism shall persuade me not to like them. I
 
 CH. III.] LEVELLING DOWN JOHNSON 77 
 
 wondered at Johnson," etc. All which shows a wish 
 to exhibit the incorrectness of his friend. 
 
 Johnson, with that wonderful memory of his, 
 quoted some inferior poem which he had read years 
 before. Naturally, he was astray in some of the 
 words. He said the poem concluded with certain 
 lines, which were four in number. Long after, 
 Bozzy calls attention to the incorrectness of his 
 friend. He later hunted out the book — and copied 
 the passage, to prove that half a dozen more lines 
 came after the others. The poem did not end 
 with these lines, for others followed ! This was 
 peddling enough. Fancy Bozzy hunting up his 
 book, and delightedly pouncing on the error ! 
 Johnson was virtually right. 
 
 After giving Johnson's curious prayer on the 
 death of his wife, his communication with her 
 through dreams or other form of manifestation, 
 Boswell confides to us his own feelings in this 
 truly significant passage : " What actually followed 
 on this most interesting piece of devotion by 
 Johnson we are not informed, but I, whom it has 
 pleased God to afflict in a similar manner, have 
 certain experience of benignant communications in 
 dreams." 
 
 When Spence's Anecdotes — then in manuscript 
 — were lent to Johnson by the Duke of Newcastle, 
 Boswell "is sorry to think that he made but an 
 awkward return — that is, he did not mention the
 
 78 SECOND MOTOR FORCE [ch. hi. 
 
 Duke's name, so that his acknowledgment is un- 
 appropriated to His Grace." 
 
 In his lofty way. Bos well took occasion to moralize 
 over Johnson's absence from the absurd Shake- 
 speare Jubilee of 1769, and actually censured the 
 Doctor for not taking part in the revels. " He 
 ought to have been happy to partake in this festival 
 of genius. The absence of Johnson could not but 
 be wondered at and regretted." All which lament 
 was far-fetched, and had no foundation. No one 
 else but Boswell would have dreamed of showing 
 himself at this undignified raree-show, where cer- 
 tainly Johnson would have been quite out of place. 
 No one ever expected such a thing. As for " every 
 literary man of note being present," this was a 
 complete delusion, no one attending but Foote — 
 who was an actor — and one or two more of smaller 
 degree. The thing, in fact, was a complete failure. 
 But Bozzy lui-meme was there, and no one could 
 imagine, from his decorous account in his book, 
 that he was other than a dignified spectator. His 
 extravagance and absurdity were, however, beyond 
 belief, if we may trust the enraptured account that 
 he gives of his doings.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THIRD MOTOR FORCE ANIMOSITIES 
 
 This process of assailing others became in Boswell's 
 hands a powerful engine for the assertion of his 
 supremacy. Johnson in his talk might be severe 
 enough to scatter his rebukes ; but Boswell, as 
 the narrator, was witness and judge. He both 
 collected the evidence and passed sentence. Which 
 of the pair, then, is the reader likely to consider 
 the more important ? Assuredly this eminent 
 Drawcansir. 
 
 Boswell's ebullient nature, it is evident, was ever 
 dominated by his own personality, which he would 
 assert by every resource. He had a complete 
 belief in his own supremacy — a belief that was 
 another of the " motor forces " in this strange being. 
 Thus believing in himself and his "infallibility," 
 he came to think that any hindrance, opposition, 
 attack, or offensive remark was a sort of heinous 
 crime — of special moment, because directed against 
 him. He was, moreover, unduly sensitive ; any- 
 thing reflecting on him rankled : he could not pass 
 it by, and the offender must receive public punish- 
 
 79
 
 80 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ch. tv. 
 
 mcnt. This may seem exaggerated, but it is 
 strictly true. This sense of injury, with the long- 
 ing to retahate, was really based on wounded 
 \anity : he was mortified at any rough jest, and 
 longed to punish the jester. Ts^o one has yet 
 noticed the importance of the great book as the 
 fiail with which erring friends and acquaintances 
 were chastised. There everything was set right, 
 the punishment long delayed was at last inflicted, 
 and thus the great Boswell was vindicated. The 
 number of persons who have the lash thus applied 
 is perfectly amazing. All the ingenious arts of 
 deftimation are resorted to. The man, or woman 
 particularly, who was so unlucky as to slight 
 Mr. Boswell — for this was the greatest offence — 
 was certain to be chastised. Still, it may be that 
 this had grown to be a fashion or habit with 
 Bozzy. He perhaps found, as many writers have 
 found, that he had a kind of facility and brilliancy 
 in noting follies and defects — and thus furnishing a 
 sort of entertainment — and this penchant he could 
 not resist. If the misfortunes of our friends furnish 
 a certain pleasure, their faults and frailties are 
 equally certain to amuse. 
 
 This petty spite, or malice, or whatever it may 
 be called, was certainly one of the " motor forces " 
 that impelled Boswell as he observed and wrote. 
 As he did not attempt to restrain it, it betokens 
 the natural character of the man, and becomes
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 81 
 
 a very entertaining study. But, above all, it is a 
 distinct department of his personal life — his auto- 
 biography, in which he relates with perfect frankness 
 his generous opinion of everybody, particularly of 
 his friends. But all the time we must murmur to 
 ourselves : " Where does the great Samuel come 
 in ?" He does not come in, but often has to stand 
 aside and wait all through Boswell's work. To 
 illustrate this highly amusing chapter in Bozzy's 
 life, I will venture to examine a number of these 
 little " animosities," as they may be termed, as well 
 as the incidents which engendered them. These 
 are not seen upon the surface, and would quite 
 escape the general observer. But all are signifi- 
 cant, and illustrate the various features of Bozzy's 
 odd and perplexing soul. 
 
 A careful, minute study of the book, continued 
 perhaps for years, would certainly bring to light 
 the secret reasons and motives for so many of 
 his statements, whether prompted by dislikes, or 
 hopes, or fears. This I have partially done. But 
 one would be almost inclined to think that the 
 whole was dictated by little mechanisms of this 
 kind. Boswell was so discursive when speaking 
 of himself and his friends and their various trans- 
 actions, that it was impossible for him to disguise the 
 personal motives below. It was, indeed, a special 
 note of his character to view everything, not 
 neutrally, but from the point of view of his dis- 
 
 6
 
 852 'rilIRD MOTOR FORCE [< h. iv. 
 
 likes ov partialities. He must love or hate. Hence 
 all Ik- n\ rote was more or less coloured in one or 
 the other direction, as his own warm, enthusiastic 
 temperament led him. 
 
 As Bozzy, in his exuberant ardour, was con- 
 stantly adding to his list of acquaintances and 
 friends, these naturally presented themselves to lum 
 in two forms — the most intimate relations, the most 
 devoted attachments, as well as resentments and 
 vendettas quite as violent. Forward persons are 
 often highly sensitive, and no one more resented than 
 Boswell any repulse or check. He was a good 
 hater ; an offence against him seemed a crime. His 
 restless spirit was ever busy, hurrying to and fro 
 retailing his grievances ; an offensive gibe rankled. 
 Being in constant touch wdth this tribe of intimates, 
 busy with all their tales and intrigues, his world 
 was wtII filled up. So when he came to write 
 of Johnson's dealings with this motley crowd, he 
 saw his own figure and heard his own voice every- 
 where. It seemed impossible to him to give a 
 view of the scene without introducing himself 
 into every transaction. The Sage, of course, in 
 mere talk might be supreme ; but as for the actual 
 business of the scene, that w^as his affair ! 
 
 All classes and professions — Lords, Bishops, 
 Ministers, wTiters, politicians — are passed in regular 
 review by our author, to be censured, approved, 
 sneered at, laughed at, or criticized in some
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 83 
 
 fashion. Johnson may chance merely to name 
 some personage, but Boswell feels that he is called 
 upon not to let it pass without delivering his own 
 judgment on the character of the person. This 
 is his almost invariable practice. He, as it were, 
 " sits in permanence " to deliver judgment, not only 
 on the persons whom Johnson judges or appraises, 
 but on Johnson himself, whose verdicts he con- 
 stantly sets aside on appeal, or at least with many 
 compliments to alleviate the blow. 
 
 While detailing and illustrating the lives and 
 characters of all these personages, it came to his 
 mind how much was owing to him by them on 
 the score of gibes, affronts, ridicule, etc., and 
 he might naturally — having a gift for presenting 
 ridiculous situations and absurdities generally — 
 imagine that he need show no reticence now that 
 there was a rare and legitimate opportunity for 
 expressing himself freely. They had not spared 
 him ; why should he spare them ? And what 
 a chance for exhibiting himself in a great court 
 or office of review, through which he would make 
 them all pass ! He would give forth all manner of 
 personal details, and by assuming a naive, uncon- 
 scious air, as of one ignorant of all offence, would 
 contrive to say enough to shock or make un- 
 comfortable everyone thus treated. 
 
 The effect of this running personal commentary 
 must have been extraordinary, as well as the ini-
 
 84 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [en. iv. 
 
 pression left by the writer. The reader could not 
 but feel that here was a man enormously 7-cpandu, 
 intimate with all, and of sufficient power to take 
 up a judicial position ; passing judgment on every- 
 body, freely retailing stories of all kinds to their 
 disadvantage, when he felt that this was possible. 
 Little wonder that he speedily set Johnson aside, 
 and stood forward as the grand controller and 
 centrepiece, one who took on himself the office of 
 general critic, ranging to and fro, speaking both 
 good and evil, dealing out censure and praise, with 
 unabashed confidence in himself and reckless 
 courage as to consequences. He is thus uncon- 
 sciously writing his own life, his feelings and doings, 
 and only incidentally that of another. 
 
 Not a single one was left untouched — bosom 
 friend, acquaintance, stranger. Passages all but 
 libellous abounded. We may conceive the rage, 
 the annoyance and mortification, not so much 
 at what the persons were reported as saying, 
 as at the offensive things they were reported to 
 have said of others. The most private conversa- 
 tions were given at length. Is it not likely — and 
 Dr. Percy says as much — that all doors were 
 closed against him, and that he was generally 
 " dropped " ? 
 
 These things, I say, are not recorded, but must 
 inevitably have occurred, and poor Bozzy must 
 have looked round ruefully as he stood alone in
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 85 
 
 his desertion. Is it so wonderful that he fled to 
 the bottle for comfort ? His last years of isolation 
 must have been irksome to the cheerful, genial 
 being. He was steeped in debt ; he had a family 
 nearly grown up, but found only expense and 
 disappointment in them. His daughter was an 
 eccentric personage, and a trouble. As he had lost 
 his wife, there was no one to look after his children. 
 He spent some years in the undignified calling 
 of heiress-hunting. Disappointment met him in 
 everything — at the English and Scottish Bars — in 
 politics, where all his patrons failed him when he 
 hoped to get into Parliament. His book was his 
 only comfort, but, as we have seen, its very success 
 must have brought him anxieties and mortification. 
 Again, it was not unnatural that he should seek 
 relief and forgetfulness in the bottle. 
 
 Boswell, feeling that he had the support of his 
 tremendous friend, was likely enough "to take 
 airs," and become arrogant. This extraordinary 
 connection made people stand rather in awe of 
 him, for he spoke with two voices — his chief's and 
 his own. Thus inflated, he became resentful at 
 anyone who appeared to deride his high position 
 as Dr. Johnson's deputy and follower. Little 
 dreamed this clever and brilliant group of men that 
 every word, every unpleasant and unflattering dis- 
 cussion, was being " taken down " ; and not only 
 taken down, but " .Tohnsonized," and pointed by
 
 SG THIRD MCrrOll FORCE ['"• '^'• 
 
 tlie best ol' Hozzy's lively and rather malicious 
 wit. Tlicy may have fancied — good, easy souls ! 
 — that tliey liad " taken him down a peg," and 
 had shown the futility or nonsense of what 
 he had been saying. But when the revelation 
 came they were to find that all the superiority 
 was ^\ath him. He was one indeed " ill to gey with." 
 He would bate not a jot of his reports. He filled 
 in his pages with unflattering tales — piquant 
 stories, ridiculous situations — while the Doctor 
 had to stand aside and wait till his turn came. 
 
 Against these gross personalities there were, of 
 course, angry protests. Yet we can fancy him 
 " giWng a piece of his mind " to a remonstrating 
 friend, and protesting with astonishment that he had 
 only a mechanical part in the business. He merely 
 reported. How was he to blame ? Boswell was per- 
 fectly genuine in holding this position, which he held 
 all through, no matter how insulting the passage. 
 Had he not transcribed it from his journal ? — 
 had he not consulted that record, and found 
 the copy perfectly accurate ? Here we think of 
 Dodson and Fogg, who used the same argument to 
 Mr. Pickwick when he wanted to know the grounds 
 of action against him. " ' The writ, sir, which com- 
 mences the action,' continued Dodson, ' was issued 
 regularly. JNIr. Fogg, where is the prcBcipe book V 
 ' Here it is/ said Fogg, handing over a square book 
 with a parchment cover. ' Here is the entry '
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 87 
 
 resumed Dodson : ' " Middlesex, Capias Martha 
 Bardell, widow, v. Samuel Pickwick. Damages, 
 £1,500. Dodson and Fogg for the plaintiff, 
 August 28, 1827." All regular, sir; perfectly.' 
 And Dodson coughed and looked at Fogg, who said 
 ' Perfectly,' also. And then they both looked at 
 Mr. Pickwick." 
 
 The feeling that he was sitting in judgment on 
 the whole gathering, and could dispense praise and 
 censure and ridicule in a fashion unrestrained by 
 propriety, or even decency, gave him a sense of 
 power and prominence that was quite extraordinary. 
 He was the centre. The chronicle became really 
 the chronicle of himself and his doings, and the 
 great Doctor was but a single subsidiary figure in 
 the large groups. Hence the record of the petty 
 animosities becomes a significant and most im- 
 portant episode in his biography. 
 
 This topic of his dislikes furnished another proof 
 of his fixed purpose to make himself prominent 
 in his chronicle, and show himself forth as a pre- 
 dominant partner. 
 
 A man, when recording his hero's course in a 
 biography, may be fairly entitled to introduce 
 himself, on due opportunity — when his presence 
 may be of advantage to his hero. But certainly 
 his private vendettas, hatreds, dislikes — elaborately 
 dwelt on — are out of place, and should have rela- 
 tion only to his own life and feelings. They have
 
 88 Tllllil) MOTDli FORCE [cn. iv. 
 
 notliing to do with tlie subject of the narnitiv^e. 
 All those who offended Bozzy, or displeased or 
 niortitied him. are didy registered for treatment. 
 He. as it were, "pays them off." Even his 
 kindest and most affectionate friends 'are made 
 to feel, by some slighting mention or awkward 
 allusion comically described, that they have at one 
 time or another either assumed undue airs or 
 asserted themselves at his expense, and have 
 therefore incurred punishment. Constitutionally 
 he was " a good hater," and a conscientious one. 
 He had no hypocrisies in the matter. He was 
 not ashamed to let it be seen that he had a grudge 
 against this or that man. In certain conspicuous 
 instances he proclaimed openly that he would 
 punish everybody who had offended him, and 
 " make them smart." 
 
 His own talk, his letters in abundance, his 
 adventures, pedigrees, travels, law-cases, tipsiness, 
 are all duly set down ; and where allusions are 
 obscure, they are significant enough to set us on 
 the search for the explanation. 
 
 Boswell was a stout, portly, imposing being, 
 with a double chin and full stomach, and yet he 
 had all the petty weaknesses and narrow views 
 of a small man. His spite, sensitiveness, and 
 dislikes were exceptionally acute, and he pursued 
 the objects of his dislike with relentless animosity. 
 Sir John Hawkins, Mrs. Thrale, Miss Seward,
 
 OH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 89 
 
 Goldsmith, Sir A. Macdonald, and many more, 
 were all thus assailed. His feeling may be gauged 
 by what he said of Gibbon : " He poisons the Club 
 to me." The crime of these people was that they 
 had interfered or interposed in some design of his 
 own. He was intensely jealous. So mad was he 
 in his determination to attack his enemies, that he 
 lost all sense of personal danger, and often made 
 the most libellous statements. His readers accept 
 them as amusing eccentricities, not knowing, it 
 may be, what were his grievances, or that in his 
 morbid hatred he was avenging some mere slight 
 or fancied wrong. 
 
 Perhaps the happiest and most typical specimen 
 of Boswell's fashion of imparting disagreeable things 
 to his friends, with an innocent air of saying 
 something pleasant, was a question on a delicate 
 matter that he put to Johnson at Ashborne. 
 " Wishing to be satisfied what degree of truth 
 there was in a story told much to his disadvantage 
 by a friend of Johnson's, I mentioned it to him in 
 direct terms." It was a painful and discreditable 
 incident, which he ought to have put from him on the 
 instant. A friend who had helped Johnson in his 
 distress — released him from a sponging-house and 
 shown him great kindness — himself fell into distress 
 and was put in prison, news of which was carried 
 to Johnson while he was at dinner. In the most 
 unfeeling way he went on eating and drinking.
 
 90 'nilllD MOTOR FOllCE [( ii. iv. 
 
 The sister, who was present, reproached him with 
 Ills base iiiii^ratitude. Johnson said he owed him 
 nothing ; wliat he had done he would have done for 
 any one — for u dog, even. Imagine the unabashed 
 Hozzy stating these things to his friend, all the 
 time merely asking for information a la Rosa 
 Dartle ! How Johnson kept his temper under this 
 inquisition is astonishing. He declared that the 
 story was absolutely false, and that he never knew 
 of the arrest. He admitted that he might have 
 made some criticisms on the gentleman, but they 
 were all general, and spoken after his death. 
 
 Under these circumstances, surely the proper 
 course was to have passed the matter by. But the 
 whole is duly figured in the chronicle, and the 
 reader begins to speculate w^iether there might 
 not be at least so?ne foundation for the story. 
 As it is, the Doctor's explanation is hardly as com- 
 plete as could be desired ; for he admits that he 
 7fmy have made the speeches in question — particu- 
 larly that about the dog. In fact, there must have 
 been foundation for the story, and it was clear that 
 Johnson could not recall the details. And how like 
 Johnson it was, when so bitterly reproached by the 
 sister for his ingratitude, to have made the retort ! 
 
 Yet another illustration of Boswell's truly amus- 
 ing knack — save to the victim — of saying a dis- 
 agreeable thing in the most disagreeable way. The 
 following could hardly be excelled :
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 91 
 
 A certain statement of Mrs. Piozzi's, which he 
 had declined to accept for his book, he later found 
 to be quite correct, so he made this amende : " I 
 am obliged in so many instances to notice Mrs. 
 Piozzi's incorrectness of narrative that I gladly 
 seize this opportunity of " — what ? begging her 
 pardon handsomely? — nothing of the sort — " of say- 
 ing that, however often, she is not ahvays incori^ect.'' 
 
 He excelled in this backbiting art, and showed 
 original ingenuity. He had devised a method of 
 setting a couple of folks by the ears with little 
 trouble. His system was this : to take note of a 
 malicious or sarcastic speech uttered by one friend 
 of another, enjoy it heartily and think it " such a 
 good thing"; then hurry away with it to this last, 
 and repeat it with due gout and enjoyment, asking, 
 however, quite innocently, " Was the case so ?" 
 He only asked for information. It was astonishing 
 how many times he tried this device, as though it 
 were the correct course to take. Fancy his walk- 
 ing up to that worthy old Scotch Judge, Monboddo, 
 and saying to him : " My lord, did you hear what 
 Dr. Johnson said to me of you the other day ? He 
 was speaking of Rousseau and the nonsense he 
 talked. But he said there was this difference 
 between you and Rousseau — the latter Jcnexv he 
 was talking nonsense, whereas you did not." This 
 actually occurred, so Bozzy assures us, who repeats 
 it without the least consciousness of impropriety.
 
 9i THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 What in.in oi" courage, even, could bring himself to 
 say sucli a tiling to an old Judge of good reputation? 
 1 am afraid this must be accounted want of manners. 
 *' Tliere, sir, is i/our want," as Johnson said to 
 him. " His lordship having frequently spoken in 
 an abusive manner of Dr. Johnson in my com- 
 pany, / on one occasion during the life-time of my 
 iUustrious friend could not refrain from retalia- 
 tion, and repeated to him this saijing. He has since 
 published I don't know how many pages in one of 
 his curious books, attempting in much anger, but 
 with pitiful effect, to persuade mankind that my 
 illustrious friend was not the great and good man 
 which they esteemed and ever will esteem him 
 to be." 
 
 On another occasion, Johnson, talking freely to 
 his admirer, had said very coarsely of Wilkes that 
 the citizens had all but elected him Lord Mayor, 
 " though they knew he would rob their shops, 
 knew he would debauch their daughters." It was 
 shocking that this should be put in print — by a 
 friend, too — and as sanctioned by Johnson's high 
 authority. But Bozzy, as usual when an opportunity 
 offered, at once repaired to Wilkes to relate this 
 complimentary remark, and in his unique way pro- 
 ceeded to discuss with him whether mo7'e point 
 could not be given to the censure by making the 
 remark somewhat coarser. He expected that 
 Wilkes would, as a matter of course, enter with
 
 cH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 93 
 
 enjoyment into the merits of this nice question. 
 Bozzy thus explains : " I think it incumbent on me 
 to make some observation on this strong satirical 
 sally.'' Wilkes received it very good-humouredly, 
 and perhaps justified Bozzy 's forecast. 
 
 Again, when Mrs. Thrale had quoted Garrick's 
 verse, 
 
 " rd smile with the simple, and feed with the poor,"" 
 
 Johnson said : " Nay, my dear lady, this will 
 never do. Poor David ! Smile with the simple ! 
 What folly is that ? And who would feed with 
 the poor that can help it ? No, no ; let me smile 
 with the wise and feed with the rich." " / 
 repeated this sally to Garrick^ and wondered to find 
 his sensibility as a writer not a little irritated by it." 
 The wonder would have been had Garrick not 
 been annoyed ; Bozzy 's innocence, real or affected, 
 is almost engaging. 
 
 By this sort of double-barrelled disagreeableness 
 he contrived to make two people uncomfortable. 
 Thus, when Johnson was seated by Wilkes, Bozzy 
 suggested that it was the lion lying down with the 
 kid. He mentioned this to the Bishop of Killaloe, 
 who amended it to " with the goatJ" " Such, how- 
 ever, was the engaging politeness and pleasantry 
 of Mr. Wilkes, and such the social good-humour 
 of the Bishop, that when they met at dinner they 
 were mutually agreeable." Yet both were to read
 
 d4 rilllU) MO roK FORCE [cH. IV. 
 
 the ai'cH>unt in print I Wilkes, lor whom Boswell 
 h;ni always atrected the warmest friendship, was 
 strangely seleeted for sneers and gibes, as the above 
 speeimen shows ; yet in the same breath he oddly 
 adds a clumsy compliment. 
 
 Soame Jenyns having written a book on " The 
 Origin of Evil," Johnson dealt with it controversially, 
 and was accounted to have demolished his theory. 
 Alter Johnson s death an epitaph appeared in the 
 papers ; " illiberal and petulant," Boswell calls it, 
 ** with all the vulgar circumstances of abuse, which 
 had circulated amongst the ignorant." Jenyns was 
 " then at a very advanced age, and had a near 
 prospect of descending into the grave. I was very 
 sorry for it, for he was then become an avowed and 
 (as my Lord Bishop of London, who had a serious 
 conversation with him on the subject, assures me) 
 a sincere Christian." This ought to have shielded 
 him. " He was not to expect that Johnson's 
 numerous friends would tolerate such treatment." 
 Accordingly, Bozzy wrote a very spiteful epitaph, 
 " prepared for a creature not quite dead yet." And 
 so the unjust and sarcastic epitaph was met in the 
 same public field by an answer in terms by no 
 means soft, and such as wanton provocation could 
 alone justify. 
 
 " Here lies a little ugly, nauseous elf, 
 Who, judging only from its wretched self. 
 Feebly attempted, petulant and vain, 
 Th' origin of evil to explain.
 
 ( H. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 95 
 
 A mighty genius, at this other elf displeased, 
 With a strong critic grasp the urchin squeezed : 
 For thirty years its coward spleen it kept, 
 Till in the dust the mighty genius slept ; 
 Then stunk and fretted in expiring snuff, 
 And blinked at Johnson with its last poor puff." 
 
 This is poor enough. But it is difficult not to 
 suspect that Boswell must have had a secret grudge 
 of his own. And so he had, for had not Jenyns 
 written of him ? — 
 
 " Boswell and Thrale, retailers of his wit. 
 Will tell you how he wrote and coughed and spit." 
 
 This affront — to be the first of many — stung 
 BoswelL It made it the more offensive that he 
 should be coupled with Mrs. Thrale. The last 
 words of the epitaph are grossly personal. Why, 
 however, Boswell did not attach his name is a little 
 puzzling. Jenyns had died many years before, and 
 could not harm him. It is really a rather ribald 
 production. 
 
 There is nothing more characteristic in this 
 direction than his treatment of the Scotch Baronet, 
 Sir Alexander Macdonald, whom the travellers 
 visited at Armadale. Taken in itself, his account 
 displays an amount of rudeness and ungentlemanly 
 behaviour that to all readers must seem unaccount- 
 able. The Baronet received them and sheltered 
 them, he was a friend of Johnson's, and yet Bozzy 
 pursued him with relentless hostility, and actually
 
 on THIRD MOTOR FORC^E [oh. iv. 
 
 so libelled him in his book that before its appear- 
 ance he had to cancel passages, and later withdraw 
 others, under threat, it was said, of chastisement. 
 What did it all mean ? 
 
 But there is a curious and truly interesting 
 mystery associated with these passages. Bozzy 
 was always careful not to let the motives of his 
 animosities escape him, but he is so naive in his 
 treatment, and so displays his character, that it is 
 not difficult to trace the secret. 
 
 Johnson and he had been well entertained at 
 this place. Their host met them on landing, and 
 brought them to his house near the shore. But 
 Boswell described him in print as mean, penurious, 
 unpatriotic, and, with shocking bad taste, says that 
 the host brought them to this small house that 
 "he might have an excuse for entertaining them 
 meanly," instead of at his larger mansion, which 
 was inland. Several of the grosser and more 
 offensive passages were removed in later editions, 
 and Croker discovered that a whole leaf had been 
 cancelled. Later in the work Boswell spoke of 
 his host, without giving his name, in the most 
 rancorous terms, calling him " Sir Sawney " — a 
 term which he applied to another Baronet who had 
 also supplanted him in the affections of an heiress. 
 
 Now, the secret of all this rage and animosity 
 was that Boswell had designs on a kinswoman of 
 his own, Miss Bosville, a great Yorkshire heiress.
 

 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 97 
 
 and found himself, to his rage, " cut out " by the 
 Baronet. Sir Alexander was a man of ancient 
 lineage, " The Lord of the Isles," and later became 
 Lord Macdonald. With proper dignity, he is said 
 to have taken no notice of these ungentlemanly 
 attacks. 
 
 In another passage Boswell says : " Col also told 
 us that the same person having come up with a 
 sergeant and twenty men working on the high 
 road, he entered into discourse with the sergeant, 
 and then gave him sixpence for the men to drink. 
 The sergeant asked, ' Who is this fellow V Upon 
 being informed, he said, ' If I had known who he 
 was, I should have thrown it in his face.' John- 
 son : 'There is much want of sense in all this.'" 
 Imagine the Baronet's anger and disgust on his 
 attention being called to these unworthy passages. 
 
 Such libellous utterances could not pass without 
 notice ; the person mentioned could not fail to be 
 identified; for Boswell says, "the penurious gentle- 
 man of our acquaintance, formerly alluded to" 
 and he had already given his full name and 
 residence. No doubt there was a clamour. Some 
 of his friends were, likely enough, scandalized, and 
 so— an unusual thing with him — he made a sort 
 of half-apology, or rather vindication of himself. 
 " Peter Pindar," always on the alert, attacked him 
 scurrilously, declaring that Sir Alexander had 
 threatened " his breech to kick," which would have 
 
 7
 
 98 THIRD MOTOR FORCE \cu. iv. 
 
 been no surprise. But as JJozzy declared that he 
 had altered and withdrawn under no pressure or 
 compulsion, we nuist accept his word. It is likely 
 that Sir Alexander pointed out to him the grossness 
 of his behaviour, and re(]uired that the passages 
 should be withdrawn ; and this Boswell may not 
 have considered compulsion. He would probably 
 have retained them, as he did in similar circum- 
 stances, had he not seen that it was scarcely safe. 
 His anger and mortification at this humiliation is 
 shown by his protest. He was constrained to 
 make a sort of apology, or rather explanation : 
 
 " Having found on a revision of the first edition 
 that, not^vithstanding my best care, a few observa- 
 tions had escaped which arose from the instant 
 impression, the publication of which might be con- 
 sidered as passing the bounds of a strict decorum, I 
 immediately ordered that they should be omitted 
 in the subsequent editions. I was pleased to find 
 that they did not amount in the whole to a page. 
 If any of the same kind are yet left, it is owing to 
 inadvertence alone, no man being more unwilling 
 to give pain to others than I am. 
 
 " A contemptible scribbler, of whom I have 
 learned no more than that, after having disgraced 
 and deserted the clerical character, he picks up in 
 London a scanty livelihood by scurrilous lampoons 
 under a feigned name, has impudently and falsely 
 asserted that the passages omitted were defamatory,
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 99 
 
 and that the omission was not voluntary, but com- 
 pulsory. The last insinuation I took the trouble 
 publicly to disprove ; yet, like one of Pope's dunces, 
 he persevered in 'the lie o'erthrown.' As to the 
 charge of defamation, there is an obvious and 
 certain mode of refuting it. Any person who 
 thinks it worth while to compare one edition with 
 the other will find that the passages omitted were 
 not in the least degree of that nature, but exactly 
 such as I have represented them in the former part 
 of this note — the hasty effusion of momentary 
 feehngs, which the delicacy of politeness should 
 have suppressed." 
 
 Admirably written ! This sketch of Wolcot has 
 the spirit of Johnson's famous letter to Macpherson. 
 It will be noted that Bos well alters only the pas- 
 sages where Sir Alexander is named. 
 
 Boswell's venom and animosity were displayed to 
 the very end of the Tour. He put it to the score 
 of the Baronet's shabby treatment of his guests, 
 but it was owing to his old grudge. 
 
 " The penurious gentleman of our acquaintance, 
 formerly alluded to, afforded us a topic of conversa- 
 tion to-night. Dr. Johnson said I ought to write 
 down a collection of the instances of his narrowness, 
 as they almost exceeded belief. Col told us that 
 O'Kane, the famous Irish harper, was once at that 
 gentleman's house. He could not find in his heart 
 to give him any money, but gave him a key for a
 
 100 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [oh. iv. 
 
 harp, wliiili was finely ornamented witli gold and 
 silver and with a precious stone, and was worth 
 eighty oi- a hundred guineas. He did not know 
 the value of it ; and when he came to know it,* he 
 would tain have had it back ; but O'Kane took care 
 that he should not." 
 
 The jest of " my hearty friend," Sir Thomas 
 Blackett — at the expense of Sir A. Macdonald (he 
 roughly said, on being asked, " Was it not a hand- 
 some punch-bowl ?" " Yes, if it were full ") — was no 
 doubt relished by Scotch lairds. But no real gentle- 
 man would have put it in print, with the names 
 and all. Dozens of instances of this lack of good 
 taste and good manners could be given. But how 
 account for this insensibility? One reason was 
 probably the same as that which made him so 
 greedily seek acquaintances, and w^hich made him 
 advertise himself through the medium of such 
 stories of intimacy. Another reason was that 
 he was a complete etoui^di ; he never paused to 
 think or weigh things. An incident seemed to 
 him amusing and delightful, a huge piece of fun, 
 and he must communicate it to others, for it 
 showed his importance. Thus, in the punch-bowl 
 
 * Johnson seemed to rebuke these exaggerations, for 
 it was plain a miserly man would not give away so valuable 
 a thing. Indeed, it was absurd to say that an educated 
 gentleman would be ignorant of the value of such a curio ; 
 whilst it is most improbable that a simple harp-key would be 
 so decorated, or that it could be worth a hundred guineas.
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 101 
 
 story he begins with " My hearty friend, Sir 
 Thomas " ; and there was, besides, the pleasant 
 joke, the ridicuhng his enemy. Sir Alexander — 
 thus shown to be a penurious creature. 
 
 Even the amiable Goldsmith, who to me always 
 seems to suggest the image of a friendly yellow- 
 haired Irish terrier, does not escape. How anyone 
 could feel unkindly to such a being is astonishing. 
 True, Bozzy charges him with " envy," " malice," 
 "ill-will," etc. The truth was, Johnson loved Goldy, 
 as everybody did, though at times they laughed 
 at him. On the other hand. Goldsmith did not 
 properly respect Boswell. The latter saw plainly 
 that Johnson had a genuine affection for the poet. 
 How significant and natural is their little quarrel 
 at the Club, the Doctor saying, " Sir, you are im- 
 pertinent !" and later, " I will make Goldsmith 
 forgive me ;" and the latter 's touching speech : 
 " Sir, it is much from you that I can take ill." 
 He never said anything like that to Boswell. 
 
 A happy illustration of BoswelFs gift of dis- 
 tinguishing " shades " in character is this sketch of 
 the poet : 
 
 " Sir Joshua Reynolds mentioned to me that he 
 frequently heard Goldsmith talk warmly of the 
 pleasure of being liked, and observed how hard 
 it would be if literary excellence should preclude 
 a man from that satisfaction, which he perceived 
 it often did, from the envy which attended it ; and
 
 102 TlIIRl) MOTOR FORCE [( h. iv. 
 
 therefore Sir Joshua was convinced that he was 
 intentionally more absurd, in order to lessen him- 
 self in social intercourse, trusting that his character 
 would be sufficiently supported by his work. If it 
 indeed was his intention to appear absurd in com- 
 pany, he was often very successful. But with due 
 deference to Sir Joshua's ingenuity, I think the 
 conjecture too refined. His person was short, his 
 countenance coarse and vulgar, his deportment that 
 of a scholar awkwardly affecting the easy gentle- 
 man. Those who were in any way distinguished 
 excited envy in him to so ridiculous an excess that 
 the instances of it are hardly credible. He, I am 
 afraid, had no settled system of any sort, so that 
 his conduct must not be strictly scrutinized ; but 
 his affections were social and generous, and when 
 he had money he gave it away very liberally. 
 His desire of imaginary consequence predominated 
 over his attention to truth." 
 
 On the whole, we can read between the lines 
 that Bozzy had a real liking for the engaging poet. 
 
 Boswell was constantly contriving to entangle 
 himself in embarrassment owing to his attempts to 
 show finesse or some ingenious method of arrange- 
 ment. For instance, how simple a thing was it to 
 lend his manuscript to the worthy Sir W. Forbes, 
 the banker, who read it with delight and returned 
 it with much praise. He went so far as to say 
 that a person reading it would have a much better
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 103 
 
 idea of the islands than even one who had travelled 
 through the country. Quite enchanted, Bozzy pub- 
 lished this testimonial in full, with abundant return 
 of praises of his friend. It seems there was some 
 lavish praise of Sir William in the work ; but this 
 brought Boswell into trouble. For the banker, 
 a plain, matter-of-fact person, required the matter 
 to be explained ; his letter had been published 
 without his knowledge or leave, and he desired it 
 to be stated that the portion containing Boswell' s 
 compliment was not in the manuscript which had 
 been sent to him for perusal. It is clear that the 
 banker insisted that this should be explained to the 
 public, as his character was so high. But Boswell 
 rather artfully conveys that this was a voluntary 
 act, done " in justice to Sir W. Forbes." Witli 
 some such device, Bozzy always tried to get out of 
 his difficulties. 
 
 Boswell's grossest display of ill-nature and ill- 
 manners connected with the Tour was his treat- 
 ment of a worthy Baronet and writer. Sir John 
 Dalrymple. This gentleman, on the pair leaving 
 Edinburgh, had hospitably pressed them to stay 
 with him at Cranstoun. Boswell's printed com- 
 ment on this invitation is that he could perceive 
 "that he was ambitious of having such a guest"; 
 but, as he knew that Sir John had been assailing 
 Johnson and his book, " I thought he did not 
 deserve the honour ; yet, as it might be a con-
 
 104 'rillUD MOTOll FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 venience to Dr. Jolmson, I contrived that he 
 should accept the invitation." They were expected 
 to dinner, but Bozzy purposely went out of their 
 "vvay to see other folk, and so it became very 
 late. When they arrived they did not much care, 
 though a special sheep was to be killed, etc. The 
 pair had great fun over the picture of the waiting 
 Baronet, and Johnson made a comic parody of a 
 passage in a work of Sir John's. There was not 
 much harm in doing this ; but fancy describing 
 it all minutely, and their host reading it in print ! 
 They arrived very late, and found him "in no very 
 good- humour." Boswell abused the bedrooms for 
 their bareness and coldness : " INIy friend and I 
 thought we should be more comfortable at the 
 inn two miles farther on ;" and so they set off. All 
 this is printed about a respected private gentleman. 
 Could anything be more offensive and ungracious ? 
 When these sudden resentments took possession of 
 Boswell, he became quite uncontrollable, and would 
 not listen to either reason or decency. 
 
 He was also entertained by Sir Allan McClean 
 of Lochbuoy, and his sister — a pair of ancient 
 lineage. Both were most kind and hospitable. 
 Yet Bozzy, with a strange lack of what was due 
 to a lady and to his host, describes the breakfast 
 scene, where the laird's sister w^as pressing Johnson 
 to cold sheep's heads, etc. " Sir Allan seemed dis- 
 pleased at his sistei'^s vulgarity "/ Incredible and
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 105 
 
 ungentlemanly ! As this was printed only ten 
 years later, the lady was probably alive, and read 
 these disparaging remarks. 
 
 One of his casual notes shows how happily 
 Bozzy could contrive to be offensive, though I 
 really believe that he fancied he was saying some- 
 thing agreeable. Of Dr. Taylor, his host, he 
 quotes a pleasant saying, adding the comment — 
 " The only time I ever heard him say anything 
 witty." He merely meant that this was the only 
 witty thing he had been lucky enough to hear. 
 Yet it was a maladroit speech, and the reader 
 thinks, " Here is a dull man in whose company 
 Bozzy was for some weeks, and who had said only 
 one lively thing." 
 
 This worthy and portly Dr. Taylor could hardly 
 have expected that his guest, whom he was 
 entertaining so cordially, was all the time de- 
 liberately collecting evidence to bring home to him 
 the charge that he was passing off another writer's 
 sermons as his own. Bozzy took much pains to 
 get to the bottom of this matter. " I have no 
 doubt," he says, " that a good many sermons were 
 composed for Taylor by Johnson," and then, spying 
 among Johnson's papers : " At this time I found, 
 upon his table, a part of one which he had newly 
 begun to write ; and Concio pro Tayloro appears 
 in one of his diaries. When to these circumstances 
 we add the internal evidence from the power of
 
 \06 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 thinking and style, in tlie collection which the 
 Reverend Mr. Hayes has published, with the 
 sip^niticant title of ' Sermons /eft for publication by 
 tlie Keverend John Taylor, LL.D.,' our conviction 
 will be complete." This agreeable stroke must 
 have been read by Taylor. 
 
 To clinch the matter, in another part of his work 
 Bozzy took care to lay down that he thought the 
 passing off another's work as your own was highly 
 immoral : " I, however, would not have it thought 
 that Dr. Taylor, though he could not write like 
 Johnson (as, indeed, who could?), did not some- 
 times compose sermons as good as those which 
 we generally have from very respectable divines. 
 He showed me one with notes on the margin 
 in Johnson's handwriting ; and I was present when 
 he read another to Johnson, that he might have 
 his opinion of it, and Johnson said it was ' very 
 well.' These, we may be su7~e, were not Johnsons ; 
 for he was above little arts or tricks of deception." 
 But who is referred to as being above "little arts," 
 " deception," etc. — awkward words to introduce ? 
 
 In a discussion Dr. Taylor admitted that the 
 people were not much attracted to the then King, 
 on which Boswell rather wantonly — for Taylor 
 was still alive — suggests that Dr. Taylor was very 
 ready to make this admission because his party was 
 not in power ! 
 
 And again : *' Johnson told me that Taylor was
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 107 
 
 a very sensible, acute man, and had a strong mind ; 
 that he had great activity in some respects, and 
 yet such a sort of indolence that, if you should put 
 a pebble upon his chimney-piece, you would find it 
 there, in the same state, a year afterwards." This 
 was hardly respectful. 
 
 "Johnson and Taylor," he says, "were so 
 different from each other that I wondered at their 
 preserving an intimacy." However, by inquiries 
 and investigation he fancied he had found the 
 reason. Taylor had told Johnson that he was to be 
 his heir. Hence Johnson's disinterested attentions. 
 
 The joint disloyalty of both Johnson and 
 Boswell to Langton, and their mutual harping 
 on his supposed nearness, saving, and careless 
 waste, with other failings, must have been a great 
 shock to that excellent man when he read them 
 in the book ; for, though unnamed, any friend 
 would recognize him. " I have dined lately," wrote 
 
 the Sage, " with poor dear . I do not think 
 
 he goes on well. His table is rather coarse, and he 
 has his children too much about him." Bozzy 
 expands this censure : " This very just remark will, 
 I hope, be constantly held in remembrance by 
 parents, who are in general too apt to indulge their 
 own fond feelings at the expense of their friends. 
 The common custom of introducing them after 
 dinner is highly injudicious ; they should not be 
 allowed to poison the moments of felicity by
 
 108 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 attractin*? the attention of the company." No 
 doubt Mr. Boswell was often thus interfered with. 
 And so he preaches to the general pubhc on the 
 subject. 
 
 BoswelFs obHgations to Langton were immense. 
 The latter had helped him all through the work 
 with anecdotes, reminiscences, etc. He had sup- 
 plied him with sheaves of characteristic notes ; he 
 had been friendly to him during his London 
 life. Yet Boswell contrived to insert throughout 
 his book a number of disparaging, unpleasant 
 things, which Langton must have read with surprise 
 and dissatisfaction. Bozzy of course maintained 
 that he was not accountable ; he was merely re- 
 porting. But why this ill-nature ? The reason, I 
 believe, was that Boswell fancied it gave him im- 
 portance ; it made those " superior persons," who 
 had patronized him and amused themselves at his 
 expense, see that he was now their master and con- 
 troller — that he was, as it were, Johnson's literary 
 executor and censor. For some such reasons, every 
 quarrel, every expression of dissatisfaction with 
 Langton, is recorded with infinite pains. Boswell 
 suppressed nothing save the name ; but he described 
 the person and his surroundings so minutely that 
 there could be no mistake in identifying him. He 
 set down all Johnson's criticisms on Langton's 
 careless administration of his household ; on Lang- 
 ton's impropriety in introducing religious topics for
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 109 
 
 discussion ; on his occasional penuriousness, as well 
 as other slighting things. One would say he " had 
 a spite " against this amiable man. On the other 
 hand, he records many complimentary things. 
 
 With what feelings must Langton and his family 
 have read the account of the " pickled mango " 
 incident, meant to illustrate a mean and inconsis- 
 tent economy. " I told him," says our busybody, 
 who in this respect suggests Tom Hill, the 
 original of Paul Pry, " that at a gentleman's house, 
 where there was thought to be such extravagance 
 or bad management that he was living much beyond 
 his income, his lady had objected to the cutting of a 
 pickled mango, and that I had taken an opportunity 
 to inquire the price of such a mango, and found it 
 was only two shillings. So here was a very poor 
 saving indeed I" And he provoked Johnson to say 
 that it was " the blundering economy of narrow 
 understanding.'''' Imagine the good Langton read- 
 ing this ! How could he forgive ? 
 
 This "mango story" — which Miss Hawkins 
 recognized and said was not true — is a typical 
 illustration of Boswell's amazing insensibility to the 
 claims of friendship, gratitude, or even decency. At 
 the same time we must believe that he was utterly 
 unconscious of what he was doing, and would have 
 been astounded at any resentment being shown. 
 We can hear him saying, as he always said when 
 expostulated with, " Why, / have done nothing I
 
 110 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [c ii. iv. 
 
 It was ill my note-book. 1 merely copied it. Tlie 
 note-book was accountable." There is something 
 odil and uncanny in tliis misintelligence, as it 
 would lia\e struck any perfectly rational person 
 that sucli a proceeding must dissolve a friendship 
 on the spot. Another of his wdld delusions was 
 that by using the terms " a friend of ours, who had 
 wasted his fortune, and thought by small savings 
 to restore it," he could veil the personality of the 
 ^^ctim. He might say, " Why, I have not named 
 him; it is kept secret." Nothing of the kind. De- 
 tection was immediate. The incident was in the 
 memory of Langton and his lady. The friends of 
 course speculated when they read, and were helped 
 by others in their guesses. 
 
 The most scandalous incident in this wanton 
 treatment of the amiable Langton, who had been 
 so good to him, w^as the scene, which Boswell de- 
 scribed with such admirable humour, of the Doctor 
 ridiculing Langton's having his will drawn up 
 by Chambers, the lawyer. Here he presents his 
 friend in the most malicious of attitudes, making 
 Johnson speak of Langton's sisters, for whom he 
 had affectionately provided in his will, as " three 
 dowdies," and then proceed in the most comical 
 fashion to picture the importance of signing the 
 document. Langton must have been deeply out- 
 raged as he read, though he is disguised, as Boswell 
 thought, as "one of our friends."
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 111 
 
 Yet how cleverly does Boswell analyze Johnson's 
 feelings ! " He now laughed immoderately, without 
 any reason that we could perceive, at our friend's 
 making his will : called him the testator, and added, 
 ' I dare say he thinks he has done a mighty thing. 
 He won't stay till he gets home to his seat in the 
 country to produce this wonderful deed ; he'll call 
 up the landlord and read it to him,' etc." 
 
 I have always thought that Bozzy's capital story of 
 his father and " Durham on the Galatians " betrayed 
 a sort of mental casuistry that was rather significant. 
 Pressed in argument, and challenged to name a 
 Presbyterian theologian of reputation, he suddenly 
 " and luckily," says Bozzy, recalled a title seen in a 
 catalogue, " Durham on the Galatians," and boldly 
 said : " Pray, sir, have you read Mr. Durham's 
 excellent work on the Galatians ?" " By this lucky 
 thought,'' says his son admiringly, " he kept him at 
 bay." Nevertheless, this was an elaborate falsehood 
 and deception, and the son heartily approved of it, 
 calling it " an instance of my father's address." 
 
 Little tricks and deceptions he was also fond of 
 "playing off" on his great friend, such as that of 
 the great Dilly dinner, which Johnson would not 
 have approved had he known of it. Boswell, 
 when planning their tour, used various devices 
 to attract him. " It will forward the scheme," he 
 wrote to Dr. Robertson, " if in your answer to this 
 you express yourself concerning it with that power,
 
 n'2 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 etc., which may he directed so us to operate shortly 
 upon him." *' The answer was quite as T could have 
 wished." To another he w^rote for something of the 
 same kind, **tliat I may read it to the mighty Sage 
 with proper emphasis." To another he sent a 
 flattering note : " He talks of you with the same 
 warmth that he did last year." 
 
 Perhaps the most elaborate specimen of these 
 amusing tracasseries is his wholly unnecessary 
 and intrusive management of the falling out 
 between Johnson and Dr. Percy, which he thought 
 to mend in a fashion of his own, but which only 
 brought on his head the displeasure of the pair. 
 
 One can hardly repeat too often that Boswell's 
 character is ever an instructive and amusing study. 
 It is one general paradox. How inexplicable, for 
 instance, seems his fancy for setting himself before 
 the public in some degrading attitude, as a drunken 
 man, a public laughing-stock — scenes which he 
 described wdth as much interest as though he 
 were dealing with another man ! There is often 
 a tendency to this in common society ; but the 
 moralist's caution should be remembered— never 
 to tell a story against yourself. How was it that 
 one so sharp in detecting another's foolishness 
 could be so blind to his own ? I fancy it was 
 owing to his longing to be before the public 
 in some shape or other ; whether an unseemly or 
 dignified one it mattered not, so that he was in
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 113 
 
 evidence. These scenes would cause talk at least, 
 and his name would fly per ova. He, moreover, 
 fancied that he had the better of the laughers, and 
 that on appealing to his readers they would agree 
 with him. Of the great romancier, the elder 
 Dumas, his son protested that he was capable of 
 getting behind his own carriage to persuade the 
 public that he kept a negro servant ! And lastly, 
 as I have said, the scenes are so humorous and 
 characteristic that no one, any more than he, would 
 wish their omission. How strange that one so alive 
 to foolishness should be so insensible to his own ! 
 I believe it was partly owing to his acute sense of 
 humour and thorough enjoyment of a dramatic 
 comic scene, which he could not bring himself to 
 forego, even though it sacrificed his self-respect. 
 Again he became the central figure, the object of 
 all eyes, and the subject, also, of all the laughter. 
 Further, by an odd delusion, he seemed to him- 
 self to gain in importance. One of these exhi- 
 bitions is so truly humorous, and such a picture 
 of Boswell's various weaknesses, that we are 
 tempted to examine it a little minutely. He 
 tells how he was dining with the Duke of 
 Montrose, before "going on" to a party at Miss 
 Monkton's, where he confesses, with a certain 
 pride, he arrived intoxicated : " I had dined at the 
 Duke of Montrose's with a very agreeable party, 
 and His Grace, according to his usual custom, had 
 
 8
 
 lU THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 circuldtcd the hottic frcchj. Lord Graham and I 
 'vcut together to Miss 3Io?i/ito/i\s', who'e I certainly 
 'iCas ill e.rtraordifKiry spirits and (d)ove all fear or 
 axce. In the midst of a great number of persons 
 of the first rank (amongst whom I recollect 
 with confusion a noble lady of the most stately 
 decorum), / placed myself next to Johnson^ and, 
 thinking myself noiv fully his match, talked to him 
 in a loud, boisterous manner, desirous to let the 
 company know how I could contend with Ajax. 
 I particularly remember pressing him upon the 
 value of the pleasures of the imagination, and, 
 as an illustration of my argument, asking him : 
 ' What, sir ! supposing I were to fancy that the — 
 (naming the most charming Duchess in His 
 Majesty's dominions) — were in love with me, 
 should I not be very happy ?' My friend, with 
 much address, evaded my interrogative, and kept 
 me as quiet as possible." Next day he wrote the 
 lady an apologetic "copy of verses," calling her 
 " Maria," praising her " bright " eyes, and protesting 
 he was " a victim to love and wine." 
 
 This scene — if not actually the best, one of the 
 best — is admirably done. We are at the party, we 
 see the company, and Bozzy lolling beside his friend, 
 unconsciously talking loud, vociferating about a 
 great Duchess being in love with him. Fancy the 
 great ladies looking round with disgust and amuse- 
 ment, and asking, "Who is that horrid, low man ?"
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 115 
 
 Imagine, too, how the Hon. Miss Monkton felt when 
 her party was made so ridiculous ! — for is not calling 
 out names of private persons a serious breach of 
 manners ? We may conceive, too, what his noble host 
 must have thought as he read, years later, that he was 
 accountable for Bozzy's intoxication, owing to " his 
 usual custom of circulating the bottle very freely." 
 Now, there was no reproach in this — Boswell would 
 have shrunk from such a thing — but there was a 
 rather vulgar freedom. " Lord Graham and I went 
 together," etc., is distinctly good. And all this is 
 officially a life of that great man Johnson ! 
 
 One of the most interesting figures of the period 
 is, assuredly, the amiable and accomplished prelate 
 Bishop Percy, presented to us as a dramatic figure 
 by Boswell himself, though his treatment of his 
 subject cannot be called handsome. But we know, 
 see, and hear him perfectly. His book on the 
 Northern Ballads has been the foundation of similar 
 studies, and is one of the few books of his era that has 
 held its ground and has been reprinted in sumptuous 
 form. Boswell, as we have said, has pictured him 
 most dramatically, but at the sacrifice of decorum 
 and loyalty. Percy had the misfortune to froisser 
 the sensitive chronicler, and thus incurred his petty 
 resentment. Boswell's favourite plan was accord- 
 ingly employed of holding him up to the public in 
 somewhat ridiculous attitudes, and of depreciating 
 him by what are called " pin-pricks." Bozzy himself
 
 116 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [( ii. iv. 
 
 would expatiate on wliat should be the proper 
 behaviour of a Bishop, so as to win the praise of 
 the Doctor — though Boswell was not exactly an 
 authority on such matters — yet he has contrived to 
 furnish a disparaging portrait of a somewhat frivo- 
 lous personage which no well-intended efforts will 
 ever efface. The real Bishop of Dromore will for all 
 time be BoswelFs Bishop of Dromore, and no other.* 
 What could exceed the scene in w^hich he made 
 the worthy Dr. Percy figure ? At a dinner-party 
 Johnson had rather roughly — if not rudely — assailed 
 the Bishop, to the latter 's great mortification, as 
 there was present an intimate friend of the Duke 
 of Northumberland, head of the House of Percy, 
 who, he had hoped, would carry a glowing account 
 of his intimacy with the Great Cham. He confided 
 his distress to Bosw^ell, who at once planned a 
 device for setting things straight. He would get 
 Johnson to write to him (Boswell) a sort of testi- 
 monial letter in favour of the Bishop, and this he 
 would read aloud at a dinner in presence of the 
 Duke's friend ; and thus, he said complacently, the 
 whole injurious impression of Johnson's attack on 
 Dr. Percy w^ould be removed. Johnson good- 
 humouredly agreed, but laughed and " rubbed it in.'' 
 " This comes of stratagem," he said. " Had he only 
 
 * There has recently appeared a sort of official biography, 
 which, however, excited little or no attention, and has not in 
 the least disturbed the Boswellian account.
 
 CM. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 117 
 
 told me he wished to show to advantage before that 
 
 gentleman " How mortifying for the Bishop ! 
 
 Bozzy then eagerly proposed his crafty plot, suggest- 
 ing that he (B.) should write to Johnson, and that the 
 latter should compose in reply {ad hoc) a handsome 
 testimonial to the Bishop. And, as Lord Percy 
 was to be at a certain dinner-party, Bozzy was to read 
 this letter aloud. What, however, will be thought 
 of his telling the whole business in print, to the 
 horror and indignation of the Bishop ; who was thus 
 represented as joining in the trick to recover his 
 position and curry favour with the Duke ? But 
 Bozzy did not care. He had proved that he held 
 all the strings in his hand, and could work his chief 
 like some puppet. One could almost hear Dr. 
 Percy groaning as he read of the awkward figure 
 his foolish friend made him cut. As Boswell, 
 indeed, put it in his first edition, " Johnson's letter 
 was studiously framed to place Dr. Percy s merit in 
 the fairest poi?it of view." Percy was so annoyed 
 at this, as well as at other things set down to 
 him, that it is clear he compelled changes to be 
 made, and these offensive words were left out. 
 Nothing was more foolish. The gentleman must 
 have seen through the trick, and, we may be sure, 
 did not fail exactly to describe the original scene 
 when the Bishop was so unpleasantly set down. 
 
 There is a note to this little tracasserie added 
 in the second edition. It seems at first sight a
 
 lis TIIIUl) MOTOR FORCE [( ii. iv. 
 
 bit of oidiiKiiy cuimnciit, lor those who cannot 
 " read between the lines ": " Though the Bishop 
 of Droniore kindly answered the letter which I 
 wrote to him relative to Dr. Johnson's early 
 history,* yet in justice to him / think it proper to 
 add that the account of the foregoing conversation 
 and the subsequent transaction, as well as of some 
 other conversations in which he is mentioned, were 
 given to the public without previous communication 
 with his lordship." 
 
 The ordinary reader would pass this by as a 
 cautious limitation. But it was one of Bozzy's 
 crafty little devices for shielding himself ; and it is 
 clear that this rather humiliating apology, though it 
 does not profess to be one, was dictated by the indig- 
 nant Bishop. For Boswell had conveyed the impres- 
 sion that the latter was pai'ticeps in the transaction 
 and enjoyed it. The Bishop explains that it was a 
 violation of confidence, and that had he know^n of it 
 beforehand he w^ould have interdicted any publica- 
 tion ; and he conveys that Boswell had behaved 
 improperly in not submitting so confidential an 
 incident to him. It is amusing to see how airily 
 Boswell carries it off, as though he were gener- 
 
 * I may be allowed to refer the reader who is curious 
 about these matters to my reprint of the first edition of 
 BoswelTs "Johnson," in which the variations of later editions 
 are marked and explained, I may just say that it is a 
 work full of interest for those who w ould understand Boswell's 
 true character.
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 119 
 
 ously conceding : " Yet in justice to him I think it 
 proper to add," etc. But there is no attempt at flout- 
 ing him, for, as in the case of Dr. Beattie, Dr. Percy- 
 was not one to be trifled with. And this Httle 
 matter leads us to another.* 
 
 Even to remonstrate against unfair treatment 
 became a new offence, to be chastised with more 
 ridicule. Such was the case of the amiable 
 Dr. Beattie, of whom Johnson, with coarse humour, 
 wrote "he had sunk upon us, that he was a 
 married man, and had been passing himself off* as 
 a bachelor." This was unpleasant reading for one 
 high in favour at Court, a popular divine and a poet. 
 It was written in a private letter, certainly not 
 intended to be published. Poor Beattie wrote a 
 piteous remonstrance, saying that the charge was 
 quite untrue, that he had introduced his wife 
 
 * Almost at the same time, Boswell, from spite or in- 
 fatuation, led on Johnson to some broad ridicule of the Bishop, 
 laughing obstreperously and, it must be said, unmeaningly 
 at his doings. He told Johnson that he heard that Percy 
 was writing a history of the grey wolf in England. " The 
 wolf? Why the wolf? Why does he not write of the Grey 
 Rat — the Hanover Rat, as it is called ?" This, of course, was 
 suggested by the Bishop's patronage of Grainger's Rats. " I 
 should like to see ' The History of the Grey Rat, by Thomas 
 Percy, D.D., Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty'" (laugh- 
 ing immoderately). Boswell said he was afraid a Court 
 chaplain could not decently write of the Grey Rat. All this 
 was very improper and offensive to put in print, and this 
 whole " Rat passage " must have thrown ridicule on the good 
 Bishop.
 
 120 'rillUD MOTOR FORCE [en. iv. 
 
 everywhere. It was, indeed, no more than one of 
 Johnson's jests. Bcattie insisted that his letter 
 shonld be inserted in the next edition. 
 
 Another example. To tlie amiable Reynolds, 
 Boswell was under deep and many obligations. 
 He had even ''stood up" for him to Johnson. 
 *' Mr. Boswell has said it as correctly as it could be." 
 He had helped him in his labours, furnished him 
 with materials, yet, because he had declined for 
 good reason to point out what share Johnson had 
 taken in writing his " addresses," he turns on him 
 unkindly, and sets down a very unpardonable 
 insinuation as a reason for the refusal. 
 
 " Some of these, the persons who were favoured 
 with them, are unwilling it should be mentioned, 
 from a too anxious apprehension, as I think, that 
 they might be suspected of having received larger 
 assistance." Boswell complained to Malone, men- 
 tioning Sir Joshua as having had this objection. 
 He declares that the painter first gave his consent, 
 and then changed his mind. The leaf had to be 
 cancelled. All this was awkward and inconvenient. 
 But he knew how to punish his friend, who had 
 applied to himself the general statement. He must 
 have been seriously annoyed to find so unworthy a 
 motive imputed to him. 
 
 On another occasion, mentioning that Sir Joshua 
 would not join a tavern club that Johnson had 
 founded, Bozzy said : " It did not suit Sir Joshua
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 121 
 
 to be of this club." Now, there is something not 
 very tactful in this awkward word, which suggests 
 some sort of disparagement of the founder, his friend. 
 It is probable that Sir Joshua iiad not time to 
 frequent such a club, and had excused himself. 
 
 Bozzy's treatment of his friends and acquaintances 
 is almost invariably " superior," often contemptuous 
 and depreciatory. He often contrives by a tactless 
 phrase to convey that the person was a poorish or 
 inferior being. It seemed never to occur to him that 
 he was under various obligations to these people, 
 or that he was doing anything improper. He was 
 seated in his judicial chair, recording Johnsoniana, 
 and bound to suppress nothing. The Professors of 
 the various Scotch Universities had treated him hos- 
 pitably ; yet he could not resist speaking lightly of 
 them, or making disparaging remarks as to their 
 learning. If one was a little silent, the reason 
 was that he was afraid to commit himself before 
 Johnson. He indulged in sneers, too. All this was 
 owing to his assured air of superiority. 
 
 In examining this interesting question, we must 
 always take into account Boswell's curious taste for 
 secret and crafty methods in preference to straight- 
 forward courses. He relished carrying out a piece 
 of business in tortuous fashion, because it raised 
 his opinion of his own cleverness. He particularly 
 enjoyed " playing " on the Doctor in this way, 
 " turning him round his finger," as it were. He
 
 1«« 'rillKD MOTOR FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 ininht be suyini»' to himself all the time, "This 
 great, wise man cannot see through my httle 
 tricks." We think again of Sir AValter's acute 
 remark as to his being the monkey on Johnson's 
 shoulders. 
 
 How many instances does he furnish in his book 
 of these little devices, even recording them with 
 pride ! Witness this specimen : 
 
 At Welwyn, Boswell wishes to contrive a meet- 
 ing ^\'ith the son of the poet Young. " Here some 
 addi'ess was requisite,'" he tells us, for he did not 
 know Mr. Young, and if he had suggested such a 
 meeting Johnson would have " checked his wish " 
 or been offended. That is, it would have been dis- 
 agreeable to Johnson. " I here concerted with 
 Mr. Dilly that I should steal away, and try what 
 reception I could procure from Mr. Young ; if un- 
 favourable, nothing was to be said, but if agreeable, 
 I should return. He accordingly repaired to 
 Mr. Young, and told him that the reason for his 
 calling was " a wish to see his place." The other 
 asked him to tea, when Bozzy said he had just come 
 from London with Dr. Johnson, and must go 
 back to join him at tea. The other ventured to 
 hope that the Doctor would come and join him. 
 " Availing myself of this opening," he said he 
 would go and fetch him. Having been thus suc- 
 cessful, he went back and told Johnson. " Luckily, 
 he made no inquiry how this invitation had arisen."
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 123 
 
 Here Johnson is second. The hero-manager, 
 arranger of all things, is the great Mr. Boswell. 
 " What a clever man !" thinks the reader, as he 
 does on a hundred other occasions. 
 
 It will be seen that this account, which anyone 
 but Bozzy would have been ashamed to confide to 
 his readers, in nearly every line offers some trifling 
 deception. But the worst thing is the pride that 
 our author seems to take in it all, as though it were 
 a wonderful piece of cleverness. 
 
 In connection with this taste for small deceptions, 
 here is a comic instance of Bozzy 's autocratic and 
 controlling spirit. Having simply mentioned that 
 " Tom Tyers " knew Johnson, he proceeds to tell 
 us all about him in the fullest detail — how he was 
 the founder of Vauxhall Gardens, of which he gives 
 a sketch : all which, of course, belongs to Boswell's 
 personal memoirs, and is therefore in its right place. 
 The details are not very apropos; but we must look 
 below. Tom Tyers had been guilty of writing 
 an account of the Doctor, his sayings and doings, and 
 of publishing his little volume in advance of Boswell. 
 The book is written very naturally, and contains 
 some curious anecdotes, so Boswell must give Tyers 
 a proper set-down. " He abounded in anecdote, 
 but was not sufficiently attentive to accuracy, and 
 1 therefore cannot venture to avail myself much of 
 a biographic sketch of Johnson's which he published, 
 being one of the many various persons ambitious of
 
 1'^+ THIRD MOTOR FORCE [en. iv. 
 
 appcndiiiij; their tuinics to that of nnj iUust7'ious 
 t'rictid. 'riic sketch is, however, an entertaming 
 little eollection of fragments." Tom could not have 
 been pleased with this artful mixture of praise and 
 condemnation. He censured him, too, for raising 
 the price of admission to two shillings. " I cannot 
 approve of this," he says bluntly. He objects to the 
 honest commonalty being excluded. " An attempt 
 to abolish the shilling gallery at the playhouse has 
 been properly counteracted." But it is a blend of 
 praise and contemptuous depreciation which would 
 leave on the reader the impression that Tom was 
 " a futile creature," and not to be attended to as a 
 solemn authority. Again, we find ourselves wonder- 
 ing how this w.elange — Vauxhall Gardens, the price 
 of the tickets, and his disapproval of their being 
 raised — has to do with Johnson's biography ; though 
 it certainly has to do with Boswell's. 
 
 But there is one stroke at poor Mrs. Thrale 
 which exceeds the rest for its artful malice. She 
 had printed a letter of Johnson's without giving her 
 reply, of which Boswell had somehow got posses- 
 sion. He introduces it thus maliciously : " It will 
 amuse the readers, probably, more than those well- 
 written but studied epistles which she has inserted 
 in her collection." The insinuation is, that she had 
 here no opportunity of altering and embellishing or 
 rewriting. 
 
 Johnson had said of Dr. Campbell that he was
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 125 
 
 afraid he had not been in a church for many years, 
 on which Bozzy makes some very droll remarks in 
 his character of " Patron of Orthodoxy." " I am 
 inclined to think that he was misinformed as to 
 this circumstance. I own I am jealous for my 
 worthy friend Dr. John Campbell. For though 
 Milton could without remorse absent himself from 
 public worship, I cannot. On the contrary, I have 
 the same habitual impressions upon my mind with 
 those of a truly venerable Judge, who said to 
 Mr. Langton : ' Friend Langton, if I have not been 
 at church on Sunday, I do not feel myself easy.' 
 Dr. Campbell was a sincerely religious man. Lord 
 Macartney, who is eminent for his variety of know- 
 ledge and attention to men of talents, and knew 
 him well, told me that when he called on him one 
 morning, he found him reading a chapter in the 
 Greek New Testament." A proper test — just as 
 Bozzy himself might be found reading Ogden. 
 
 Boswell's attacks on persons he excessively dis- 
 liked — such as Gibbon, who " poisoned the Club to 
 him" — were as indecent as they were ungentlemanly. 
 Recording that Johnson was made Professor of 
 Literature at the Royal Academy, he adds : " In 
 which place he has been succeeded by Bennet 
 Langton, Esq. When that truly religious gentle- 
 man was elected to this honorary professorship at 
 the same time that Edward Gibbon, Esq., noted for 
 introducing a kind of sneering infidelity into his
 
 126 THIRD M(yr()R FORCE [ch. iv. 
 
 historical writiiitrs, was elected Professor in Ancient 
 History in tlic room of Dr. Goldsmith, I ohserved 
 that it hrouiJi^ht to my mind ' AVicked Will Whiston 
 and good Mr. Ditton. I am now also of that 
 admirable institution as Secretary for Foreign Cor- 
 respondence, by the favour of the Academicians 
 and the approbation of the Sovereign."* 
 
 Here is a typical instance of Boswell's strange 
 '* blend " of compliment with some " nasty " strokes, 
 as though the first was enforced, and had to be 
 balanced by something in the other direction. His 
 curious soul seemed always thus subject to turns 
 and shifts, which he expressed without restraint. 
 Having mentioned " Dr. Watson's Chemical 
 Essays," it occurred to him that he had something to 
 say about this person, with the result of furnishing 
 an odd note, compounded of praise and censure, and 
 sufficient to make the person feel uncomfortable. 
 The Bishop might have been gratified by reading of 
 the poverty of his diocese, but next moment came 
 an odd remark : " His lordship has written witJi 
 
 * Some remarks on Shakespeare appeared in an Edinburgh 
 literary journal, in which the world ventured to object to 
 Johnson's line, " Panting time,'" etc. Says Boswell : " Written, 
 I should suppose, by a very young man, though ca/Z^tZ reverend, 
 who speaks with presumptuous petulance of the first literary 
 character of his age. Amidst a cloudy confusion of words," 
 etc. " The learned society under whose patronage such gabble 
 is ushered into the world would do well to offer a premium to 
 anyone who will discover its meaning."' Thus did one author call 
 another up to his judgment-seat and claim the right to judge !

 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 127 
 
 much zeal to show the propriety of equahzing the 
 revenues of bishoprics." This might be taken as 
 sHghtly sarcastic, as though the Bishop treated a 
 general question for his own personal interests. 
 Then follows with no a propos an announcement : 
 " He has informed me that he has destroyed all his 
 chemical papers." This could not have pleased the 
 Bishop, who would not have cared to have it 
 publicly known, though he had informed Bozzy of 
 the fact privately. It committed him, exposed him 
 to questioning, etc. — in fact, must have made him 
 a little uncomfortable. Bos well winds up with a 
 very ill-natured and uncalled-for remark, to the 
 effect that friends of the constitution, " assailed " 
 on every side by innovations, " would have less 
 regretted the suppression of some of his lordship's 
 other writings." 
 
 Boswell's fashion of fixing by degrees, as it were, 
 and without appeal, the status of anyone brought 
 before him, revising and degrading where he found 
 a disparaging circumstance, is shown in the case of 
 Anna Maria Williams. The sincerity and con- 
 scientiousness of his severity is, however, beyond 
 question. In his first edition he had spoken of 
 her warmly as " an amiable, elegant, and accom- 
 plished young lady." But after the French 
 Revolution she had to be retried before him. " In 
 the first edition of my work the epithet amiable was 
 given. / was sorry to he obliged to strike it out.
 
 1«8 TIIIUl) MOTOR FOUC'K [ni. iv. 
 
 hut I could not suffer it to rcm<iiu a tier tliis yoiin*^ 
 \i\d\ had written in laxour ol" tlie French anarchy, 
 and liad ^as I lia\ c ht\n intbrnied on good autliority) 
 walked witliout horror over tlie ground at the 
 Tuilcrics when it was strewed witli tlie naked 
 bodies of the Swiss, who had defended the monarch 
 against a crew of rvjjians.'' Bozzy was trying to be 
 as IcJiicnt to the prisoner as was consistent w^ith his 
 position as judge, and sentenced her to forfeit his 
 compHmentary term of " amiable." 
 
 Nothing is more interesting than to trace the 
 windings and entanglements of poor Bozzy 's strange 
 character. After a little practice we can do it suc- 
 cessfully. We are often surprised by an unexpected 
 venomous stroke in return for some favour. 
 
 \Vhen at Lichfield, Johnson coolly walked away 
 to dine with Mrs. Gastrel at Stowhill, leaving his 
 friend to find a dinner where he could, " without 
 any apology. I wondered at this want of that 
 facility of manners from w^hich a man has no diffi- 
 culty in carrying a friend to a house where he is 
 intimate ; I felt it very unpleasant to be thus left 
 in solitude in a country town, where I w^as an 
 entire stranger, and began to think myself unkindly 
 deserted." Thus it rankled. This carrying a 
 guest to a friend without invitation was actually 
 a practice with him, and he once thus brought a 
 couple of gentlemen, Colonel Stopford and another, 
 to breakfast in Bolt Court under such free and
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 129 
 
 easy conditions. But he was soon relieved, for 
 Mrs. Gastrel kindly sent him an invitation at 
 Johnson's request. He ought to have been obhged 
 to both, above all to the lady, but mark what 
 followed : "I was not informed till afterwards 
 that Mrs. Gastrel's husband was the clergyman 
 who, while he lived at Stratford-upon-Avon, 
 where he was proprietor of Shakespeare's garden, 
 with Gothic barbarity cut down his mulberry- 
 tree, and, as Dr. Johnson told me, did it to vex 
 his neighbours. His lady, I have reason to believe 
 on the same authority, participated in the guilt of 
 what the enthusiasts of our immortal bard deem 
 almost a species of sacrilege." 
 
 Now, how morbid was all this ! First his resent- 
 ment at being neglected, though he did not know 
 the lady, as well as the absurd theory that an 
 invited guest was entitled to bring a friend. Still, 
 it was Johnson that got him the invitation ; he 
 ought to have been asked on his own claims. He 
 seems to say that, had he at the time known of the 
 mulberry-tree outrage, he might not have gone. 
 The real meaning of all this was that he had not 
 forgiven the lady the affront she had put upon him 
 by not asking him on his merits and reputation : 
 she must have known of his being in the town. 
 It had rankled ever since. 
 
 Now, I have gone at length into this department 
 of Bozzy's character because it shows so clearly 
 
 9
 
 130 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [cu. iv. 
 
 lunv he was (loniinatcd hy liis own loelin<^s and 
 passions, and to such an rxtcnt that they were 
 beyond his control. As he dwelt on his fancied 
 wronixs. his importance swelled and swelled, he 
 lost all restraint, forgot Johnson, his life and doings, 
 in the one purpose of laying all his grievances 
 before the public, and exposing and chastising 
 those who had offended him. This he looked on as 
 an element in his own important life, and, as the 
 feeling grew on him that here was a rare oppor- 
 tunity for righting himself with society, his book 
 gradually expanded under his hands into a full 
 apologia or autobiography. 
 
 It is all the time impossible to suppose that 
 the worthy Boswell was malignant by nature. One 
 would be inclined to think that it was a habit to 
 which he had become accustomed. He found it 
 easier and more enjoyable to " pick holes," as it is 
 called, than to see merits, and his Paul Pry methods 
 put him in possession of everyone's mistakes and 
 failings. He thus became superior, as he always 
 hked to be. 
 
 Now, does it not curiously support the theory set 
 forth in these pages, that at this moment we have 
 grown so utterly entangled in Mr. Boswell's move- 
 ments, adventures, feelings, hostile and other, as to 
 have become utterly oblivious of the great man 
 whose course and character we are assumed to be 
 follo"v\ing and celebrating ? It is altogether Mr.
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 131 
 
 Boswell's character and feelings that wholly engross 
 our attention. Take this Gastrel incident. Johnson's 
 share in it seems trivial enough, though it was a 
 good-natured act. But what a hero becomes his 
 friend ! how important for himself and for the 
 reader ! What a crowd of personal incident — his 
 resentment, etc. — and then his ungenerous attack on 
 the lady ! Can there be doubt as to who was the 
 important personage in the episode ? 
 
 What is presented here gives but a tithe of this 
 strange and wondrous exhibition of animosity. It 
 is really phenomenal. He most excels in gathering 
 together piquant stories and bits of gossip, so as to 
 ingeniously depreciate. 
 
 I know how invidious, and perhaps ungenerous, 
 all this will seem ; but it is absolutely necessary to 
 prove the case. 
 
 His treatment of Mrs. Thrale I need not go into, 
 as it is so familiar ; but it is full of choice malice. 
 What, however, are little known are the attacks 
 on other ladies — on Miss Primrose, Miss Seward, 
 and others.* 
 
 His frantic loathing of poor Sir John Hawkins, 
 his studied revilings of him, seem all but un- 
 matched in literary history. There is nothing 
 like it — and it is all done with such malicious art. 
 
 * They will be found scattered through the Scots Magazine 
 and other " monthlies." Abstracts of them are given in my 
 Life of Boswell.
 
 132 TlIIKl) MO'l'OH roiU'K fin. iv. 
 
 'V\\c KniLrbt, lu)\vi'\cr, liad wounded liiiii in many 
 places. \\'hat makes it worse is, that all tlie time 
 he cultivated a seeiiiinL!^ intiniaey, a hypocritical 
 friendship {lining- and l)reakfastin<^' with him, while 
 he was actually w'ritin<^' down some libellous 
 description. 
 
 He would write to his friend Temple that he 
 had breakfasted with Hawkins ; that he believed 
 " he was a fjood man, but rather ' mean' in his enter- 
 tiiinment for a person of his position." However, 
 they got " into social converse this winter." But 
 shortly after we find him writing to Temple : 
 " Pray by return of post help me with a word. 
 In censuring Sir J. Ha^vkinss book, I say, ' There 
 is throughout the whole of it a dark, uncharitable 
 cast,' which puts the most unfavourable construc- 
 tion on my illustrious friend's conduct. jNIalone 
 will have malignancy for cast. Is not that too 
 strong ?" 
 
 I have always thought that Boswell's animosity 
 to Hawkins was unique, an almost incredible 
 specimen, revealed as it was openly to the public, 
 without shame — quite a " human document " in 
 that line. In a long course of reading — memoirs, 
 letters, and the like — I have never met any- 
 thing to match it. In his case, Boswell's malig- 
 nancy was so thorough and so absorbed him, 
 that he threw away all restraint and decency, and 
 did not care if all the world knew that what he
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 133 
 
 said was dictated by scorn, contempt, and the 
 bitterest hatred. It is terrible evidence of such 
 feehngs when it leads to unscrupulous distortion 
 of facts. How are we to account for it ? Boswell's 
 was a decent, rather affectionate disposition ; but 
 anyone who interfered with or hindered his plans 
 he considered to be doing so of set purpose to 
 injure him. His hatred carried him so far that 
 he did not care what people said or thought of his 
 monstrous doings. 
 
 His epitome of the Knight's career is really 
 unmatched for its venom : " Since my work was 
 announced, several Lives and Memoirs of Dr. 
 Johnson have been published, the most voluminous 
 of which is one compiled for the booksellers of 
 London by Sir John Hawkins, Knight, a man 
 whom, during my long intimacy with Dr. Johnson, 
 / never saw in his company, I think, but once, and 
 I am sure not above twice. Johnson might have 
 esteemed him for his decent, religious demeanour, 
 and his knowledge of books and literary history ; 
 but from the rigid formality of his manners it is 
 evident that they never could have lived together 
 with companionable ease and familiarity ; nor liad 
 Sir John Hawkins that nice perception which was 
 necessary to mark the finer and less obvious parts 
 of Johnson's character. His being appointed one 
 of his executors gave him an opportunity of 
 taking possession of such fragments of a diary and
 
 1S+ rillUn .MOTOR force [<n. IV. 
 
 other paptrs as were lel't ; dI" wliiili, before deliver- 
 iuLj them up to tlie residuary legatee, wliose 
 property tliey were, he cndciivinDcd to cwtract fhc 
 fubstiuuc. In tliis lie has ;/o/ been vcrij successfaU 
 us I lidve f\)uitd upon a perusal of those papers, 
 whieh have been sinee transferred to me. Sir John 
 Hawkins's ponde?'ous labours, 1 must aeknowledge, 
 exhibit a farrago, of whieh a eonsiderable portion 
 is not devoid of entertainment to the lovers of 
 literaru gossiping; but besides its being swelled 
 out with long unneeessary extraets from various 
 works (even one of several leaves from Osborne's 
 Harleian Catalogue, and those not compiled by 
 Johnson, but by Oldys), a very small part of it 
 relates to the person who is the subject of the 
 book ; and in that there is suck an inaccuracy in 
 the statement of faets as in so solemn an author is 
 hardly excusable, and certainly makes his narrative 
 very unsatisfactory. But w^hat is still worse, there 
 is throughout the whole of it a dark, uncharitable 
 cast. . . . 
 
 " The greatest part of this book w^as written while 
 Sir John Haw^kins was alive ; and I avow that one 
 object of my strictures was to make him feel some 
 compunction for his illiberal treatment of Dr. 
 Johnson. Since his decease I have suppressed 
 several of my remarks upon his work. But though 
 I would not ' war with the dead ' offensively, I 
 think it necessary to be strenuous in defence of my
 
 (•H. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 135 
 
 illustrious friend, which I cannot be without 
 strong animadversions upon a writer who has 
 greatly injured him. Let me add that, though I 
 doubt I should not have been very prompt to 
 gratify Sir John Hawkins with any compliment in 
 his lifetime, I do now frankly acknowledge that, 
 in my opinion, his volume, however inadequate 
 and improper as a Life of Dr. Johnson, and however 
 discredited by unpardonable inaccuracies in other 
 respects, contains a collection of curious anecdotes 
 and observations, which few men but its author 
 could have brought together." 
 
 The malice of all this is extraordinary. It is an 
 accumulation of libellous things. There is nothing 
 anywhere like this for malice, so skilfully put 
 together. It seems to have grown and accu- 
 mulated in his bosom, till on the news of Hawkins's 
 death it burst forth. Boswell says, indeed, that 
 he would have published his remarks all the same 
 had Hawkins lived, for he wished to punish him 
 for his " illiberal strictures " on Johnson — yet 
 another misrepresentation. One may doubt, how- 
 ever, whether, considering their new intimacy, 
 he would have dared to do this. 
 
 He is generally wrong in his facts, just as he is 
 in his abuse of Hawkins and his statement as to 
 Garrick's connection with the Club. By a not un- 
 natural error, the Knight stated that Garrick was 
 never admitted a member ; this, however, was not
 
 \'M\ 'rillKD Moroii KORCK [en. iv. 
 
 [he case, tlu>iiL!:li pnlty near it. (Jarrick iiad aii- 
 lUMiiu-t'il tliat he likc'il [\\c idea of the C'hih, and 
 wiudd join it. .Tolmson resented tliis dcchiration, 
 and announeed tliat lie would " hlack-bean ' him, 
 with otlensive remarks on his calling as a player. 
 Boswell declares that he was " soon after " admitted. 
 Mrs. Thrale also gives an account of Dr. John- 
 son's hostihty and contempt, and of his determina- 
 tion not to admit the actor. Now, does it not 
 come very near to supporting Hawkins's statement, 
 when we find that, instead of its being " soon after " 
 (1764), it was )iine years before so distinguished a 
 man as the actor w'as allow^ed to enter ? 
 
 AMien Johnson was dying and his legs were 
 being scarified, thinking the surgeons did not cut 
 deep enough, he boldly used a pair of scissors to 
 enlarge the incision, so as to let the water escape. 
 But hear Boswell : "This bold experiment Sir J. 
 Hawkins has related in such a manner as to suggest 
 a charge of intentionally hastening his end ; a 
 charge so very inconsistent with his character, 
 in every respect, that it is injurious even to re- 
 fute it," etc. This will seem a distortion of the 
 facts when we read that Hawkins said just the 
 contrary. 
 
 It is to his credit that he was elected to the 
 Literary Club — no mean testimonial. But when 
 describing its foundation members Boswell stops a 
 moment to speak of his enemy : " Sir John Hawkins
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 137 
 
 represents himself as a seceder from this society, 
 and assigns as the reason of his withdraxmng him- 
 self from it, that its late hours were inconsistent 
 with his domestic arrangements. In this he is not 
 accurate ; for the fact was, that he one evening 
 attacked Mr. Burke in so rude a manner that all 
 the company testified their displeasure, and at their 
 next meeting his reception was such that he never 
 came again." This story he calls *' not accurate," 
 though he means that it is an untruth. How 
 natural that this grave, rather pedantic, matter- 
 of-fact personage should feel himself out of place 
 among these lively beings ! We are told that he 
 objected to pay for a supper of which he did not 
 partake. This would not have made him un- 
 popular. Why should we not accept the reason 
 given by Hawkins himself ? 
 
 The Knight explained very candidly that they 
 seldom met till nine, the committee business taking 
 till ten ; supper was not over till eleven, at which 
 time his servants " came for him ; he could not 
 wait up without disturbance of his family." He 
 also says that he disapproved of the class of " ex- 
 ceptionable " persons they had begun to admit. 
 He was probably thinking of Gibbon, and perhaps 
 of Boswell himself, and it is likely enough that he 
 had a hot argument with Burke on this point. It 
 may have been that the members showed their dis- 
 pleasure, but not to the extent of driving him from
 
 i;is 'rmiti) MoroK force (< h. n. 
 
 the CMul). Hosidcs, Sir .lolin mjis iidI [\\v man to 
 yicUl ti) tliat sort ol' pressure. He was a liard- 
 headid law \ cr. full of business, and probably found 
 these "pleasant vices" rather inconvenient and un- 
 suitable. It was scarcely proper, too, in Bozzy to 
 reveal the secrets of the prison-house, and open the 
 affairs of private gentlemen to the pu])lic. 
 
 On the building of Blackfriars Bridge Sir John 
 furnishes some rather abstruse architectural 
 theorems, yet which are intelligent and interesting. 
 They were quite // propos, as Johnson had taken a 
 deep interest in the " elliptical arch question," etc. 
 But Bozzy is more than usually scurrilous on the 
 occasion. (True, the Knight was dead.) 
 
 " Sir John Hawkins has given a long detail of it, 
 in that manner vulgarly, but significantly, called 
 rigmarole ; in which, amidst an ostentatious ex- 
 hibition of arts and artists, he talks of ' proportions 
 of a column being taken from that of the human 
 figure, and adjusted by Nature — masculine and 
 feminine — in a man sesquioctave of the head, and 
 in a woman sesquinonaV ; nor has he failed to 
 introduce a jargon of musical terms, which do not 
 seem much to correspond with the subject, but 
 serve to make up the heterogeneous mass. To follow 
 the knight through all this would be a useless 
 fatigue to myself, and not a little disgusting to my 
 readers. I shall therefore only make a few 
 remarks upon his statement."
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 139 
 
 Hawkins mentions that Johnson really valued 
 him, and allowed him to accompany him in a journey 
 to the Hebrides, etc. Who could see offence 
 here ? It gives him credit — " one that highly valued 
 him." The offence lay in calling him " Mr. James 
 Boswell." " See how he speaks of me," the latter 
 would write to his friends. As Miss Hawkins 
 explained, it ought to have been " the celebrated 
 Mr. Boswell," the "well-known Mr. Boswell"; 
 but plain " Mr. James Boswell !" Hawkins was 
 a matter-of-fact man with a legal mind; he 
 simply set down the fact. But Bozzy's hatred 
 grew and grew. Even at starting he paid him off* 
 for that " Mr. James Boswell." Enumerating the 
 members of the Ivy Lane Club, he calls him 
 " M7\ John Hawkins, an attorney " — an amusing, 
 literal retort — with a note : " He was afterwards for 
 several years Chairman of the Middlesex Justices, 
 and, upon his presenting an address to the King, 
 accepted the usual offer of knighthood. He is the 
 author of ' A History of Musick,' in five volumes in 
 quarto. By assiduous attendance upon Johnson in 
 his last illness, he obtained the office of one of his 
 executors ; in consequence of which the booksellers 
 of London employed him to publish an edition of 
 Dr. Johnson's works, and to write his Life." 
 
 Almost every word here is barbed. " A common 
 City justice " — " accepted the usual offer." The last 
 sentence is untrue in omnibus. He did not obtain
 
 Ill) rillKl) .MOTOR FORCE [en. iv. 
 
 [\\c cMHiitorsliij) l)y " assidiunis ;ittciid;iiK'C." lie 
 lamc as a IVitiul and man of business, «:fot Johnson 
 to niakr a will, and was kind and ust'lul. l?iit 
 was not Ho/./.y also *' assiduously attentive " ? " /// 
 conscijucncc o/'ic/tic// " the editin<j^ and the bi()<^raphy 
 eanie t(^ hini. Hut Boswell eould not know what 
 prompted the booksellers, except that Sir John 
 seemed a fit and suitable person. Presently, when 
 the Knight falls into a mistake, he does so "with 
 solemn inaccuracy " — a happy phrase. 
 
 Apart from this, Bosw^ell's statements of facts are 
 false and misleading. He says that Sir John had 
 no intimacy w ith Johnson, for the personal reason 
 that he (Boswell) had not seen him more than 
 twice in Johnson's company. The truth w^as, he 
 was an intimate of Johnson's, and must have met 
 him at Cave's, at " the Club," and at the Essex 
 Head, for which Johnson selected him. Indeed, 
 his attendance at Johnson's deathbed, and preparing 
 his will, were matters only in the province of an 
 intimate friend. 
 
 That this account has " the dark, uncharitable 
 cast " which Bozzy attributed to Hawkins, and was 
 all but libellous, is evident from even the most 
 meagre accounts given in the cyclopaedias. Boswell 
 showed him as an obscure scheming adventurer 
 who had " got on " by mean and tortuous ways, the 
 fact being that he was a highly respectable per- 
 sonage and his career notable. Almost every
 
 CH. IV,] ANIMOSITIES 141 
 
 incident in his life his enemy has contrived to 
 distort. 
 
 He was the son of a carpenter, raised himself to 
 be a solicitor, wrote for the Gentleman's Magazine, 
 studied music with success, and compiled a very 
 elaborate history of the science. His attorney's 
 work prospered ; he married a fortune, inherited 
 another, and disposed of his business advan- 
 tageously. He was admitted to the society of 
 Walpole, Garrick, and others of the litei^ati. He 
 published useful law tracts, was made a magistrate, 
 and became highly popular with his colleagues, 
 who made him their chairman. He was active in 
 suppressing riots and disorders, and he was finally 
 knighted. This is surely a respectable record, and 
 no one could suppose that it was written of the 
 person whom Bozzy so defamed. 
 
 A vast number of other illustrations of this vili- 
 pending system could be quoted ; what has been 
 given is, however, I think, convincing. But what 
 could be expected when he has not spared his chief ? 
 It will be said that this is all inconsistent with the 
 abundant and most exuberant praises which are 
 found all through the volumes, but these chiefly refer 
 to Johnson's character. Further, Boswell did not 
 mind appearing inconsistent. He had his private 
 purpose in correcting his friends' errors, which was to 
 exalt himself; and placing himself on this elevation, 
 he could afford to praise. And even as to Johnson's
 
 U-^ rillHl) MOTOR rOUCK \cn. iv. 
 
 fhariu'tcr, whicli lie so reverenced, Iiow iiiiiny llHn»j^s 
 were there wliieli need not li:i\ c been revealed ! Such 
 are the feroeioiis displays of ill-temper, etc. Hozzy 
 felt that where he was thus and so often assailed, 
 liis best vindication was to let his friend exhibit 
 himself to the pubHc, who were expected to think, 
 •• How nobly patient, how sweet-tempered and for- 
 bearing, is this Mr. Boswell !" The question for the 
 reader is, of course, whether this clever contrivance 
 was craftily devised for Boswell's own purposes. 
 
 If he found his great book a convenient vehicle 
 for ventilatinij his dislikes, he found it no less 
 valuable for showing his partialities for those whom 
 he reverenced, admired, or looked to for something. 
 All the lavish compliments dispersed through the 
 book — mostly a propos des bottes — were intro- 
 duced with what is called " an eye to business." 
 For the moment he is perpetually setting aside the 
 duties of his biography to bring in lavish praise 
 of some noble person from whom he had expecta- 
 tions. He, indeed, scarcely mentions a lord, with 
 whom he may have had merely a bowing acquaint- 
 ance, without some clumsily-turned compliment. 
 This was not likely to advance his cause, for such 
 exalted personages do not much relish, if they 
 are not actually affronted by, the eulogiums of a 
 comparative stranger. It may be accepted as 
 certain that for every such effort a motive can 
 be detected. We may take as a happy illustration
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 143 
 
 his introduction of Sir Michael le Fleming. 
 Boswell had declared that Greenwich Park was 
 not to be compared with Fleet Street. " Let me 
 shelter inyself under the authority of a very fashion- 
 able baronet in the brilliant world, who declared 
 that he preferred the smell of a flambeau at the 
 playhouse to the fragrance of a May evening in 
 the country." Not to put his readers in sus- 
 pense, Bozzy, in a note, elaborately reveals the 
 name of this personage : "My friend Sir Michael 
 le Fleming, of Rydal in Westmoreland. This 
 gentleman, with all his experience of sprightly and 
 elegant life, inherits with the beautiful family 
 domain no inconsiderable share of that love of 
 literature which distinguished his venerable grand- 
 father^ the Bishop of Carlisle. He one day observed 
 to me of Dr. Johnson, in a felicity of phrase : 
 ' There is a blunt dignity about him on every 
 occasion.' " Now, it is easy to see that these quoted 
 sayings are not of very striking mark, and it is 
 necessary to cast about a little to find out ivhy Bozzy 
 was so admiring of one who inherited "with the 
 beautiful family domain " a literary taste. I find 
 that Sir Michael was one of the Lowthers' pocket 
 borough members ; and at that time Bozzy was 
 moving heaven and earth to get the Lowthers to 
 nominate him also. There were two others of 
 these Lowther members, intimates also of Sir 
 Michael, and Bozzy was naturally eager to secure
 
 144 TllIKl) MCVroii I'OlU'l-: I'cn. IV. 
 
 tlio favour of [\\c trio. Hul \\v was destined to fail 
 in his rarlianuMilary allcnij)t. 
 
 Anionn" the " patrons "' to whom 15o/,/y was 
 lookinij: for j>refernient was the celebrated Dnndas, 
 wlioni he iiitro(hiees wlienever he can, witli eonipli- 
 nients — as in tiie Case of the Negro: "I ean- 
 not too liighly praise his speech. Mr. Dundas's 
 Scottish accent, which has been so often in vain 
 obtruded as an objection to his powerful abilities in 
 Parliament, was no disadvantage to him here." 
 
 I think that we may reasonably account for the 
 '* high " society in which Boswell figured, and for 
 the number of noble lords and ladies and dis- 
 tinsfuished men who invited him to their houses. 
 It was owing to his know^n intimacy with the 
 Doctor. It soon came to be thought that the latter 
 would not be pleased if his " personal attendant " 
 or aide-de-camp were omitted. Having secured his 
 footing, Boswell exerted himself to " bring out " 
 his friend, and so attract the other guests. 
 
 There is one delightful, impayahle passage of the 
 biographical sort, which is exceedingly amusing. In 
 various places he names his different early patrons — 
 noblemen all — Loudouns, Eglintons, Mountstuarts, 
 Lowthers, etc. Lord Somerville, who had known 
 Pope, was another. Here he pauses, and says 
 impressively : " Let me here express my grateful 
 remembrance of Lord Somerville's kindness to me 
 at a vein) early period. He was the first person of
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 145 
 
 high rank that took particular notice of me in the way 
 most flattering to a young man jondly ambitious of 
 being distinguished for his literary talents ; and by 
 the honour of his encouragement made me think well 
 of myself and aspire to deserve it better. Never 
 shall I forget the hours I enjoyed with him at his 
 apartments in the Royal Palace of Holyrood 
 House, and at his seat near Edinburgh, which he 
 himself had formed with an elegant taste.'' 
 
 Again we wonder, can this be Johnson's life or 
 Bos well's own ? 
 
 It is always amusing to see how he unconsciously 
 lets escape for our benefit so many secret traits of 
 his character. He speaks of " making approaches 
 to the acquaintances of the great, and of the danger 
 of being mortified by rejections." How comic was 
 this ! As though it were a correct, habitual thing in 
 society to try and "get to know" as many great 
 personages as possible, and even encounter snubs 
 and repulses in so doing. He tells us : "I am 
 generally for trying : Nothing venture, etc." In 
 fact, he soon got a regular reputation for thus 
 forcing himself on notable persons. 
 
 Once he brought to Bolt Court a great personage, 
 "the Honourable and Reverend William Stuart, 
 son of the Earl of Bute, whom he compliments 
 as " a gentleman truly worthy of being known to 
 Johnson ; being, with all the advantages of high 
 birth, learning, travel, and elegant manners, an 
 
 10
 
 146 'rillUl) MO'l'OH FOKCK [en. iv. 
 
 exemplary })aiisli priest in every respect. Hozzy 
 had expectations from liis nohlc I'umily. 
 
 Hut Hozzy was literally eonsumed witii a passion 
 for kno\vin«T these great folk, and he knew many — 
 Dukes, Marquises, etc. On the Hebridean tour it 
 is to he suspected that, without aecjuaintance, he 
 halted before various noble mansions, that he might 
 send in word that he had with him the great 
 Doctor, leave his card, etc. A hst of his aristo- 
 cratic acquaintances could be made out from 
 his books. 
 
 His praise, both in text and notes, of Mr. Vilette, 
 the Ordinary of Newgate, is very elaborate and 
 emphatic. " Let me observe in justice to Mr. 
 Vilette, who has been Ordinary for no less than 
 eighteen years, in the course of which he has 
 attended many hundreds of wretched criminals, 
 that his earnest and humane exhortations have 
 been very effectual. His extraordinary diligence 
 is highly praiseworthy, and merits a distinguished 
 reward. I trust that the City of London, now 
 happily in unison with the Court, will have the 
 justice and generosity to obtain preferment for this 
 reverend gentleman, now a worthy old servant of 
 that magnificent Corporation " 
 
 This mixture of compliment and recommendation 
 had in it more than meets the eye. Bozzy does 
 not let us know that he was under serious obliga- 
 tion to this gentleman, whom he strove to repay by
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 147 
 
 this profitless praise. Sir Walter Scott learned 
 that he was fond of attending on capital punish- 
 ments, and that " he used to attend the prisoners 
 on the day before execution to make them laugh 
 by dint of buffoonery, in which he was not unfre- 
 quently successful !" He was allowed to sit in the 
 cart with some. These privileges he owed to 
 Vilette and Akerman the Governor. 
 
 The basis of his whole social life was '* to get to 
 know people," and those of high rank and import- 
 ance by preference. For this he strove and 
 contrived and schemed. However slight the 
 connection, he had always a misty idea that he 
 might make people useful to him. He dreamed 
 about their getting him forward in some way or 
 other ; and when he came to write his book, he took 
 care to put into it accounts of his relations with all 
 the personages he knew. As he gibbeted those 
 whom he disliked or who had offended him, he could 
 in his turn repay with compliments and praises 
 those whom he regarded with favour, or who had 
 conferred any little obligation on him. These 
 testimonials were generally of an exaggerated kind, 
 and must have embarrassed the recipients, especially 
 in the case of noble persons, who must have thought 
 them too free. 
 
 Speaking of Scots acquiring the English accent, 
 he tells us — " so successful were Mr. Wedderburne's 
 instructors, and his own unabating endeavours, that
 
 148 rillKl) MOTOlt FORCK [ni. iv. 
 
 he ^ot rid of i\\c coarse part of the Scotch jiccent, 
 retiiinin*^ only as niiuh of ihc ' native wood-note 
 wild ' as to mark his country ; icliivh, if (i/ii/ Srotcli- 
 maii should affect to forget , J should heart ili) despise 
 him. . . . Hence his distin<^uishcd oratory, which he 
 exerted in his own country as an advocate in the 
 Court of Session, and a ruling elder of the A7?V»', 
 has had its fame and ample reward in much higher 
 spheres. When I look back on this noble person at 
 Edinburgh, in situations so unworthy of his brilliant 
 powers, and behold Lord Loughborough at London, 
 the change seems almost like one of the meta- 
 morphoses in Ovid ; and as his two preceptors, by 
 refining his utterance, gave currency to his talents, 
 ■we may say in the words of that poet, ' Nam vos 
 mutastis^' All which was with a view to promotion. 
 
 Boswell's patrons were numerous, and he intro- 
 duces them all into his book with various forms of 
 compliment. Dundas had made him promises, 
 and is accordingly elaborately complimented on his 
 accent, but, on his putting him off year after year, 
 he was discarded. Lord IVIountstuart was another, 
 and to him and to Lord l^ute incense is constantly 
 offered. He is careful to tell us how the former 
 was his fellow-traveller on the Continent, and gave 
 him a Bible. 
 
 Of " William Pepys, Esq.," one of the Masters 
 in the Court of Chancery, " and well known in 
 high Court circles, ' he was rather doubtful, and
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 149 
 
 says guardedly : " My acquaintance with him is 
 not sufficient to enable me to speak of him from 
 my own judgment. But I know that both at 
 Eton and Oxford he was an intimate friend of 
 Sir J. Macdonald, the Marcellus of Scotland." 
 Thus it will be seen that he conceives himself 
 required to give, as it were from his seat of justice, 
 a formal opinion or sentence, or a qualified or 
 partial one, but some sort of opinion, on everyone 
 that passes before him. It might be said gener- 
 ally that he never introduces the name of a noble 
 person without adroitly slipping in, as it were, a 
 very neat compliment. 
 
 Of Sir Philip Jennings Clark he gives this lavishly 
 complimentary little sketch : " Sir Philip had the 
 appearance of a gentleman of ancient family, well 
 advanced in life. He wore his own white hair in a 
 bag of goodly size, a black velvet coat with an 
 embroidered waistcoat, and very rich laced ruffles, 
 which Mrs. Thrale said were old-fashioned, but 
 which for that reason I thought more respect- 
 able. " 
 
 This calling attention to peculiarities of dress is, 
 as his friend might have told him, not good breed- 
 ing, especially when asking the public to notice 
 the wearing of " your own hair," etc. We should 
 note the clever side-stroke at Mrs. Thrale — dealt 
 en passant, as it were. 
 
 For one so well born and of such good lineage,
 
 150 TIIIKI) MO'l'OK FOUCK fcii. iv. 
 
 it is ;i surj)risc> to liiul Hoswcll so olltMi (k'ficitMit 
 in i^Dod Iji-ftuliiii;- and what is expected in corrct't 
 sofictv. All his many (.'oniplinKMils to hi«^li pcrson- 
 n«i:es. his IVeedoins with their names and doinijs, show 
 the familiarity of the low-born, and must have been 
 distasteful to those concerned. 
 
 Once Bozzy was summoned from town, and he 
 tells us all about a relation of his who had been 
 shot in a duel— a rather notorious one. He had 
 been at Mr. Burke's ; he was summoned by 
 express — though one would hardly think Bos well's 
 presence necessary. However, here were the 
 elements of notoriety — the visit to Burke, the 
 express, the dramatic duel. But the incident is 
 hardly connected with Dr. Johnson's life. Again, 
 " we dined with Dr. Butter, whose lady is daughter 
 of my cousin. Sir John Douglas, whose grandson is 
 now presumptive heir of the noble family of 
 Queensberry." A Highland minister having enter- 
 tained him, Boswell makes this flourish : " My 
 cousin Miss Dallas, formerly of Inverness, was 
 married to Mr. Riddick, one of the ministers of the 
 English chapel." He pronounces them to be "very 
 worthy people." 
 
 He must have had many difficulties during the 
 Tour in " filling dates " and securing invitations. 
 It is clear that in many cases these had to be 
 negotiated, or even asked for. In that of the visit 
 to Mr. Macleod at Rasay, this was done through a
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 151 
 
 friend, the family being quite unknown to Boswell. 
 " We are advised," he says airily, "by some persons 
 here to visit Rasay on our way to Dun vegan." 
 By a gentleman he sent on a letter to the laird, 
 informing him that " we intend in a few days 
 to have the honour of waiting on him." At 
 Slains Castle he was a little uncertain as to 
 their welcome, and " hung on," as it were, hoping 
 that the owner, Lord Errol, would appear. He 
 did, and insisted they should stop for the 
 night. In one of the most "precious passages," 
 from its thorough genuineness, he portrays this 
 Thane : 
 
 " / was exceedingly pleased with Lord ErroL 
 His dignified person and agreeable countenance, 
 with most unaffected affability, gave me high 
 satisfaction. From perhaps a weakness, or, as I 
 rather hope, more fancy and warmth of feeling 
 than is quite reasonable, my mind is ever impressed 
 with admiration for persons of high birth, and I 
 could with most perfect honesty expatiate on Lord 
 Errol's good qualities ; but he stands in no need of 
 my praise. His agreeable manners and softness of 
 address prevented the constraint which the idea 
 of his being Lord High Constable of Scotland 
 might otherwise have occasioned." 
 
 Yet the Earl, after this all but grovelling worship, 
 must have been shocked to find himself spoken of 
 in this fashion : "I was afraid he might have
 
 15'2 'miKD .MDIDU FOIU'K [vn. w. 
 
 urs^cil drinkiiiijf, as I hclicxc he used ronnerly to 
 do; but he diiuik port and water out of u large 
 glass, and let us do as we pleased." 
 
 Ai^ain. nieetinn" at a dinner-party "the Honour- 
 ahle Mrs. Hoscaweii, widow of tlie Admiral and 
 mother of the present Viscount Falmouth," he 
 pays a Horid and superHuous panegyric to the lady, 
 *' of whom, if it be not presumptuous in me to 
 praise her, I would say that her manners are the 
 most agreeable, and her conversation the best, of 
 any lady with whom I ever had the happiness to 
 be acquainted." Mrs. Boscawen, who survived 
 Bosw^ell, could not have been pleased to read this 
 absurd encomium. And again: "I dined with 
 him [Johnson] at the Ramsay s' with Lord Newhaven 
 and some other company, none of whom I recollect, 
 but a beautiful Miss Graham, a relation of his 
 lordship's, wiio asked Johnson to hob -and -nob 
 with her." Indeed, the lofty fashion in which he 
 holds his court, and judges all about him, is truly 
 entertaining, and shows that he considers his 
 authority just as decisive as that of his great 
 friend. He w^as his deputy. Thus, of Dr. Percy's 
 claims to be connected with the great house of 
 Northumberland, he assures us that he had " care- 
 fully examined them, and, both as a lawyer 
 accustomed to the consideration of evidence, and 
 as a genealogist versed in the study of pedigree, 
 I am fully satisfied." But he " cannot help
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 153 
 
 observing, as a matter of no small moment, 
 the essential aid given by the Duchess of North- 
 umberland, heiress of that illustrious house ; a 
 lady not only of high dignity of spirit, such as 
 became her noble blood, but of excellent under- 
 standing and lively talents. With a fair pride 
 I can boast of the honour of Her Grace's 
 correspondence, specimens of which are in my 
 archives." Boswell doubtless hoped that this 
 tribute would please the noble family. But it 
 is entirely personal, and is not concerned with 
 Dr. Johnson. 
 
 Occasionally his attempts upon the houses of 
 the great were unsuccessful, or he hesitated to 
 press them home. For example, he informs us 
 that they " passed " Gordon Castle, which " had a 
 noble appearance." It occurred to him that this 
 " passing " might be misconstrued ; so in a note he 
 explains : " I am not sure whether the Duke was 
 at home, but not having the honour of being 
 known to His Grace, I could not have presumed 
 to enter his castle, though to introduce even so 
 celebrated a stranger. We were, at any rate, in 
 a hurry to get forward." "At any rate," Bozzy 
 seems to think, in spite of the non-acquaintance, 
 he had somewhat failed in his duty — that he ought 
 to have tried to get in. But how did he come to 
 be so uncertain as to whether the Duke was at 
 home or not ? We might be tempted to fancy
 
 134 IlIIKl) Moroii FOllCK [,M. IV. 
 
 that \\v had m.uk- iiujiiirics at tlic ^ate, and had 
 been inutMcmoiiiously dismissed. lk)s\vell is, how- 
 ever, evidently picjued, lor he rather nialieioiisly 
 adds: "If the family had kept up the old 
 Italian state, I might have procured proper 
 letters of introduction, and devoted some time 
 to the contemplation of venerable superstitious 
 state." 
 
 In advertising his own merits, Boswell sometimes 
 shows considerable adroitness. When the travellers 
 were at Rosny one wet morning, he relates, " Sir 
 George Mackenzie's works — the folio edition — 
 happened to lie in a window in the dining-room. 
 I asked Dr. Johnson to look at a particular pas- 
 sage." He then proceeds : 
 
 " In the sixty-fifth page of the first volume of Sir 
 George Mackenzie, Dr. Johnson pointed out a 
 paragraph beginning with ' Aristotle,' and told 
 me there was an error in the text, which he bade 
 me try to discover. I was lucky to hit on it at 
 once. As the passage is printed, it is said that the 
 devil answers ' even in engines.' I corrected it to 
 ' even in enigmas.' ' Sir,' said he, ' you are a good 
 critic. This would have been a great thing to do 
 in the text of an ancient author.' " 
 
 The incident amply supports what has been all 
 along contended for — that Bozzy, while setting 
 forward his chief, was taking all due care for 
 himself and his reputation. For the passage, it
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 155 
 
 will be seen, does not show off Johnson, but 
 ostentatiously exhibits Boswell. Another of his 
 ingenious devices for bold self-advertisement was 
 the careful preservation of all Johnson's letters to 
 him, containing, as they do, constant praises of 
 his (Bozzy's) talent, or panegyrics by other people, 
 set forth at length by the good-natured Johnson. 
 This was no bad form of testimonial ; and there is 
 plenty of it. 
 
 There are several portraits of Boswell — mostly 
 characteristic — so that his appearance is quite 
 familiar to us. The engraving from Sir Joshua's 
 painting must have been popular, as there were 
 some eight or nine issues of the plate. They are 
 worth studying, and reveal the man to us in a 
 wonderful way. In all he is shown of a sensual type 
 — the heavy jowl, large double chin, flabby lips, and 
 " loose " eyes. He has also a full rotundity in front. 
 We are afraid " woman and wine "— " Weib und 
 Wein" — were his failings. Sir Joshua's picture, 
 which shows us a solemn and portly personage, is 
 the most respectable and dignified. Langton's full 
 length is admirable for an amateur ; it gives all the 
 minutiee of his dress. Nearly all the pictures show 
 the curious pigtail, with a string of hair and ribbons 
 attached, which came down to the middle of his 
 back. Lawrence's was a broad caricature, but very 
 diverting, and recognizable as a likeness. The most 
 genteel is a side-view and half-length — like one of
 
 lo() TlllUn AUn'OU FORCE [cir. iv. 
 
 Dinvmnan's small portniits — very sad-looking and 
 solemn.* 
 
 Nothing is better than Boswell's lavish compli- 
 ments to the Townley family, "whose noble 
 eolleetion was not to be more admired than his cdii-ii- 
 orditianj and polite readiness in shuxcing it, which 
 se\'eral of my friends have agreeably experienced." 
 He then warns other collectors, those who are 
 possessed of such valuable stores, that they should 
 be more accommodating to the public. But w^hat 
 can have caused the amusing compliment to another 
 gentleman, which reads like an official record of 
 Mr. Boswell's approval and recognition ? — " Grate- 
 ful acknovcledgments are due to Wellbore Ellis, 
 Esquire, for the liberal access he is pleased to allow 
 to his exquisite collection." There — Roiua locuta 
 est. 
 
 Bosw^ell had quoted a letter of Smollett in which 
 he speaks of Johnson as " the great Chum of litera- 
 ture," and Bosw^ell rather rudely rebuked him for his 
 ignorance ; " had he been at an English University 
 he would have known that Chum is a student who 
 lived with another in a chamber common to 
 another." Bos well could not correct this offence 
 without offending someone and sneering at the 
 Universities of his own land. Lord Palmerston 
 
 * I once by a narrow chance failed to secure an original 
 water-colour sketch of Boswell which was on sale in the 
 Brompton Road.
 
 CH. IV,] ANIMOSITIES . 157 
 
 pointed out to him that it was evidently a mis- 
 print, and not the fault of Smollett at all. Wilkes, 
 who printed the letter, was really accountable. He 
 was not a man to " bother " by correcting the 
 Press. It is strange that Boswell, who had also 
 written " Chum," did not know what word was 
 intended. The comic thing was his accusing 
 Smollett of a schoolboy ignorance, whereas his own 
 was just as crass. He, however, makes no such 
 confession to the reader, but the nobleman's cor- 
 rection changed everything. He "carries it off" as 
 if it were a debatable matter cleared up by his lord- 
 ship, and as though it were a mere typographical 
 misprint. But he could not let Lord Palmerston 
 go without a suitable compliment : " For this cor- 
 rection I am indebted to Lord Palmerston, whose 
 talents and literary acquirements accord well with 
 his respectable pedigree of Temple." Quoting an 
 old ballad about the Duke of Leeds — 
 
 " When the Duke of Leeds shall married be 
 To a fine young lady of quality " 
 
 — Bozzy introduces an unmeaning compliment: " It 
 is with pleasure I add that this stanza could never 
 be more truly applied than at the present time." 
 There is something patronizing as well as admiring 
 here, but the Duke, whom he probably did not 
 know, is not likely to have been pleased. 
 
 Even Mrs. Boswell was occasionally allotted a
 
 1">S rillHl) .MOTOR FORCE [en. iv. 
 
 share ot the lanuly i)aiR\i»"yric' ; as wlicii Johnson, 
 niorahziiiLj over the maij^nitiecnec ol' some stately 
 mansion, said : " Sir. all this exehicles but one 
 evil — poverty. " Excellently said ; but Boswell 
 could not resist a little self-exaltation at tiie 
 Doctor's expense; his remark could be objected 
 to : *• When I mentioned it to a lady of admirable 
 good sense and quickness of understanding, she 
 observed, ' It is true, but how much good does it 
 let in ?" To this observation much praise has been 
 given." It was a good retort. And who was the 
 lady ? ^^'^hy, no other than Bozzy's wife ! " Let 
 me now do myself the honour to state that the lady 
 who made it w^as the late IMargaret Montgomerie, 
 ffiij Tej'ij valuable wife and the very affectionate 
 mother of my children, who, if they inherit her 
 good qualities, will have no reason to complain." 
 Thus, and with ingenuous variety, does he ever 
 contrive to play upon this personal instrument. 
 
 Boswell used smgular freedom in offering himself 
 to dine or stay with people. He had a slight 
 acquaintance with the Speaker's chaplain, and once 
 when on his travels sent him a card to say that he 
 would breakfast with him on the morrow, if not in- 
 convenient. The chaplain put him off, but said he 
 would see him at dinner next day. This was at 
 Grantham in 1775. " I have thought of making a 
 good acquaintance in each town on the road " — z.^.,
 
 ( H. IV.] . ANIMOSITIES 159 
 
 by calling on everyone and offering himself as a 
 visitor. " No man has been more successful in 
 making acquaintance easily than I have been ; I 
 even bring people quickly to a degree of cordiality. 
 I am a quick fire, but I know not if I last suffi- 
 ciently." 
 
 For Mr. Cambridge, Boswell had a sort of " awe- 
 ful " veneration ; so much so, that he describes John- 
 son as "asking Richard Owen Cambridge, Esquire J' 
 etc., a term he never used to anyone else. Then he 
 breaks into almost rapturous commendation : " The 
 owner of a beautiful villa on the banks of the 
 Thames, a few miles distant from I^ondon ; a 
 numerous and excellent library, which he accurately 
 knows and reads ; a choice collection of pictures, 
 which he understands and relishes ; an extensive 
 circle of friends and acquaintances, distinguished by 
 rank, fashion, and genius ; a literary fame ; various 
 elegant and increasing colloquial talents rarely to 
 be found ; and with all these means of happiness 
 enjoying, when well advanced in years, health and 
 vigour of body — do not these entitle him to be 
 addressed as fortunate ?" 
 
 One of the dramatic sketches in the Tour, which 
 we owe to Bozzy's candour, was the scene in which 
 a new journey to Sweden or some of the Northern 
 realms was discussed. They would see the famous 
 King of Sweden, who, Johnson said, would not
 
 ir>o rmin) motor force t^n. iv. 
 
 speak to thcin ; wlicn Colonel McLeod, wlio had 
 already taken Ho/./ys measure after a eouple 
 of days" aitjuaintaiiee, said proinjitly : " But Mr. 
 Hoswell would speak to him." Tiie latter was so 
 taken aback at this stroke that he showed it in his 
 face ; the Colonel, however, added, '' and with great 
 propriety." 
 
 Though he treated the matter lightly, it seems to 
 have made him reflect a little ruefully on his failing, 
 and, in a way somewhat undignified, he strives to 
 justify himself to his readers : " Here let me offer 
 a short defence of the propensity in my character to 
 which this gentleman alluded. It has procured me 
 much happiness ; I hope it does not deserve so hard 
 a name as either ' forwardness ' or ' impudence.' If I 
 know myself, it is nothing more than an eagerness 
 to share the society of men distinguished either by 
 their rank or their talents." And then he likens 
 himself to the traveller who goes over mountains 
 and seas in pursuit of knowledge, and assures us 
 that the difficulties of " getting at " these noble and 
 distinguished persons are quite as great and credit- 
 able — a rather far-fetched comparison. 
 
 Now, here was Bos well's " rule of life " — to 
 know everyone worth knowing, and so advance 
 himself in the world. His little profession of faith 
 is quite engaging from its naive simplicity. 
 
 In nothing is Bozzy more full than in his account
 
 CH. iv.] ANIMOSITIES 161 
 
 of his practice at the Bar— his hopes, prospects, pur- 
 pose of shifting to the EngHsh Bar. He enjoyed 
 but a modest practice in Edinburgh, but he is care- 
 ful to tell us of every case in which he figured. 
 This he artfully does by getting his friend to dictate 
 a legal opinion — which is given at length, to the 
 boring of the reader, and can have been of no 
 value in the Scottish Courts. It was really a 
 matter of little importance whether Boswell re- 
 mained at his native Bar or joined the English ; 
 but he must describe to his readers how he con- 
 sulted Johnson, and how the question was debated 
 between them at great length. It was, of course, 
 a foolish change, being made too late in life. It is 
 likely, however, that he was led to take the step 
 by promise of promotion, and one of his patrons, 
 Lowther, secured for him the Recordership of 
 Carlisle, which, however, he had soon to resign on 
 the demand of this patron — a painful humiliation. 
 Repeatedly and ostentatiously he boasts of his con- 
 nection with the Douglas cause, and of how on one 
 occasion he had to appear before the House of Lords. 
 As, however, the list of counsel contained over a 
 dozen of the most distinguished names, with Boswell 
 last, we may take it that his aid was not required, 
 and that he merely attended to please himself, and 
 as a sort of spectator. There can be little doubt 
 that he was merely named ex gratia and at his 
 
 11
 
 16* 'rillltn MOTOU FOIU'K [cH. rv. 
 
 own request, and in return lor liaviui;- written on 
 the subjeet. He used to appear also in the General 
 Assembly at Edinbur«i[h, and some of his discourses 
 are preserved. A few of his arguments he published 
 separately, sueh as that on the piracies of Edinburgh 
 booksellers. But whatever he did connected with 
 the legal profession, all is told at length. Even 
 the thesis which he wrote on his admission to the 
 Scottish Bar is laid before us ; and the Latin of 
 the dedication is minutely discussed with Johnson.* 
 W^ho can forget, too, the all-important question of 
 the resettlement of the Auchinleck estate, on which 
 he plagued, not only Johnson, but all his friends ? 
 
 *' I told him that I was engaged as counsel at the 
 Bar of the House of Lords to oppose a Road Bill 
 in the county of Stirling." He wanted advice as to 
 the manner of addressing their lordships. But how 
 adroit this method of self-advertisement under the 
 guise of seeking help ! Everyone should know that 
 he was pleading before the august House of Lords. 
 It was really not a matter of much moment to the 
 reader of a Life of Johnson whether Mr. Boswell 
 was successful after leaving the Scotch Bar. He, 
 however, thought it necessary to explain the causes 
 
 * I possess BoswelPs own copy, bound in vellum, and with 
 his autograph. It must be said that in his argument with 
 the Doctor on the correct Latinity of the dedication he is 
 quite convincing, and proves Johnson to be in error.
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 163 
 
 of his failure. " I am convinced the same certainty 
 of success cannot be promised to the same degree 
 of merit. The reasons of the rapid rise of some 
 and the disappointment of others equally respect- 
 able are such as it might seem invidious to 
 mention." 
 
 After oddly trying, as it seemed, to disturb his 
 friend's content with his career, by suggesting that 
 he ought to have had high offices, but that inferior 
 men had been preferred, he diverges into a sort of 
 meditation on his own case, where, with all his 
 efforts, he had altogether failed — at the Bar, in 
 politics, in letters, etc. : " I cannot help thinking 
 that men of merit who have had no success in life 
 may be forgiven for lamenting, if they are not allowed 
 to complain. They may consider it hard that their 
 merit should not have its suitable distinction." 
 
 Among other pursuits, Boswell was the most 
 persistent and systematic place-hunter that ever 
 existed. It was a fixed part of his character. 
 When he was introduced to anyone of rank or im- 
 portance — peer, Minister, or country gentleman — 
 he immediately felt that here was one who might 
 benefit him, and accordingly he assiduously followed 
 him. He had a vast number of these " patrons," 
 as he chose to dub them, and he gave them no 
 peace from his importunity. The result was that 
 he must have become known as the most terrible
 
 164 THIRD MOTOR FORCE [ni. iv. 
 
 of bores, ixud that .litcM- a c-crtaiii number of formal 
 •' j)ut-i)irs" lie was at last luilely "snubbed," and so 
 got rid ol. His ama/inn" and repeated applications 
 Mere Ljenerally aeeompanied with such exaggerated 
 encomiums of his own merits as to make the whole 
 something grotesque, and the cause of laughter at 
 his expense. 
 
 From the first he had fastened on Mr. Pitt, 
 addressing him after his Corsican tour and paying 
 him compliments, etc. ; and this imposed on the 
 Mijiister, who answered with a certain politeness. 
 As time went on he began to grow more pressing — 
 and to offer advice, which was received with all 
 the natural coldness of the great man. The extent 
 to which he nourished this delusion is really in- 
 credible. " He has given Pitt a prejudice against 
 me. The excellent Langton says it is disgraceful ; it 
 is utter folly in Pitt not to reward and attach to his 
 administration a man of my popular and 'pleasant 
 talents. He did not answer several letters which I 
 wrote requesting to wait on him. Lately I wrote 
 to him that such behaviour was not generous. ' I 
 think it is not just, and (forgive the freedom) I 
 doubt if it be wise. If I do not hear from you in 
 ten days, I shall conclude that you are resolved to 
 have no more communication with me.' " Here 
 was a terrible ultimatum for Pitt to face. Poor 
 Bozzy fancied that he had thus driven him into a
 
 TH. TV.] ANIMOSITIES 165 
 
 corner. The loss of such a correspondent — a man, 
 too, " of my popular and pleasant talents " — would 
 give him pause. Strange to say, the miserable 
 Minister took no notice ! A month — two months 
 — went by : no answer ever came ! 
 
 The incredible blindness and absurdity of all this 
 is scarcely to be believed. The notion that a 
 Prime Minister should receive or attend to such 
 applications could only have occurred to a foolish 
 man. Brother David was also pushing himself 
 forward. "Pitt has behaved very ill in his neg- 
 lect of me. I now think Dundas a sad fellow in 
 his private capacity." He had pledged himself 
 solemnly to Brother David, but had since " used 
 him cruelly." Other passages in the Life, which 
 may at first sight seem unmeaning, once more prove 
 the autobiographical character of Boswell's record. 
 
 But in a short time all his hopes faded to 
 nothing. He " wished to be laid by his dear wife. 
 Every prospect that I turn my mind's eye to is 
 dreary : why should I struggle ?" He was forced 
 to make a strange acknowledgment : " I certainly 
 am constitutionally unfit for any employment." 
 His sons had to be sent to Eton, and through 
 them he hoped to make influential friends. I 
 think the true state of the case was that poor 
 Bozzy was so much the creatur£ _Qf his imagination 
 and fond hopes, that these visions of promotion
 
 166 Til I HI) MOTOR FORCE {ni. iv. 
 
 were seen thn)iii^h llic nuuldied I'mnes of wine. 
 \N\' ni:iy assume it to be eertain tliat no promises had 
 been made by tliese hi<Tfh persona»^es, wlio, aecord- 
 intr to eustom, did not «j^o beyond the pohte tbrmuhi 
 *• that Mr. Hoswell, should an opportunity ofler," ete. 
 He liad a dreamy notion of a Lord of Sessions' 
 place, but that would doom him to Edinburgh : 
 of such an office he had not the remotest chance, j 
 
 But he soon rallied, and wrote to Johnson, 
 tiiking care to publish the letter : " Mrs. Cobb gave 
 me the high satisfaction of hearing that you said 
 * Mr. Boswell is a man who, I believe, never left a 
 house without leaving a wish for his return.' " 
 
 " I told a very pleasing young lady — niece to 
 one of the Prebendaries [in a note he supplies her 
 name — Miss Letitia Barnston] : ' I have come to 
 Chester, madam, I cannot tell how ; and far less 
 can I tell how / am to get away from it.'" 
 
 All these flourishings were to dazzle the crowd 
 and make them say: "Wonderful man, Mr. Boswell! 
 how he attracts the ladies, how everyone praises 
 and follows him !" 
 
 It is easy to see, from many indications in his 
 books, that Bozzy owed many of his distinguished 
 acquaintances to his own pushful methods. He 
 was eager to "get to know" those who were 
 of rank, or distinguished in other ways — in all 
 societies there are numbers of this class.
 
 CH. IV.] ANIMOSITIES 167 
 
 Another of his odd notions was that, when a 
 person was intimate at a house, he should have 
 the privilege of bringing a friend to dinner or 
 breakfast without invitation — indeed, it would 
 appear, without acquaintance even. If he acted 
 on this system, he must have met with many a 
 snub.
 
 CHxVPTEll V 
 
 FOURTH MOTOR FORCE — WEIN UND WEIB 
 
 The powerful " motor forces " which impelled 
 Bos well to fill his great work with details of him- 
 self and his life must include wine and women 
 (Wein und Weib), and vanity. His vanity and 
 love of the fair sex went together — wane also with 
 them. Admiration of the ladies was, perhaps, the 
 most dominant of the forces. That a biographer of 
 an eminent man should stop or turn aside to record 
 his o\\Ti penchant for the other sex — his admira- 
 tions and his flirtations, to say nothing of the tipsy 
 exhibitions which at times accompanied them — 
 can only be accounted for on the ground that he 
 intended to exibit himself and his doings. 
 
 Boswell was always more or less of a " figure 
 of fun," but when he assumed a double chin 
 and a p(jrtly, conspicuous frontal, it was im- 
 possible to look on him sentimentally. When his 
 friend Colonel Stuart was one day rallying him 
 on tliis sore point, and asking him roughly how 
 he came to be so ugly, the incomparable Bozzy, 
 thinking himself irresistible, and feeling how little 
 
 168
 
 CH. v.] WEIN UND WEIB 169 
 
 his friend knew, could not resist saying : " Does your 
 wife think so ?" This incredible retort, the last 
 another man would have thought of, considering to 
 whom he was speaking, is perhaps the most ex- 
 quisite of our hero's — it was so hopelessly fatuous. 
 It must have entertained the husband immensely, 
 and we may be certain that he and the lady had 
 many a laugh over it. But they would not take 
 him seriously ; and they were not to be blamed, for 
 he himself in his odd antics made it impossible for 
 them to do so. The singular combination of plain 
 looks and figure, with a consciousness of being most 
 attractive in his amorous advances, left only a 
 ludicrous impression on the fair ones. 
 
 To his friend Temple he writes of his doubt- 
 ful doings at inns : " There is a handsome maid 
 at this inn [at Grantham] who interrupts me by 
 sometimes coming into the room." We doubt if 
 it was the handsome maid that interrupted. He 
 makes it take the form of a complaint ; but he is 
 an incorrigible flirt, wishing to convey that he had 
 made an impression. The history of the handsome 
 maid was duly followed up. He had later to con- 
 fess to his friend that at Grantham " there had 
 been a pretty brisk gale, which shook his moral 
 supports !" 
 
 The most extraordinary thing of all was his 
 belief that such details lent him importance, and 
 that it was a matter in which he figured with
 
 170 FOURTH MOTOR FORCE [t h. v. 
 
 civilit I \Mrmi \\c could set down such things, 
 is it noi clear thai he was not thinkinjr of the 
 Doctor or of his Life, hut was striving merely to 
 set himself olY and show what a personage he 
 was { All this, faithful hiographer as he attempted 
 to be, he took care to make prominent in his 
 friend's life. Behind all his most casual allusions 
 to Ic beau sexe we can see an attempt to make out 
 that he was a Lovelace of a dangerous sort. He 
 confides to his readers the details of his social life, 
 the friends and enemies he made, the pleasures that 
 he enjoyed — he spares us no single particular. It is 
 almost the "biographer day by day" — dinners, social 
 meetings, travels, junketings, discussions, quarrels, 
 and loves. Rarely or never has a biographer stopped 
 the performance to introduce an account of his par- 
 ticular flames, for w-hom he contrives to find niches 
 in some fashion. 
 
 Of the two popular forces, woman and wine, it 
 would be difficult to say which was Bozzy's worse 
 enemy. The vain fellow, in spite of his puffed 
 cheeks, double chin or chins, and somewhat ridic- 
 ulous appearance, always fancied that he was 
 irresistible with the other sex. His flirtations w^ith 
 married ladies were carried on ostentatiously, 
 though these dames were no doubt making a jest 
 of their portly admirer. So proud is he of his 
 prowess that he all but takes the reader into his 
 confidence. He had clearly little respect for the
 
 CH. v.] WEIN UND WEIB 171 
 
 adage not to "kiss and tell." These adventures 
 had nothing whatever to do with Johnson or his 
 Life, but they present another facet of the versatile 
 Bozzy's character. A biographer may be indulged 
 if he gives a few details about himself, but to talk 
 about his amours and amourettes, his flirtations, to 
 compliment certain ladies on their charms, their 
 delightful manners, to praise even the maid-servants, 
 seems going a little too far save in a chronicle of 
 the writer's own life. 
 
 So eager was Boswell that the reader should 
 suppose he was a gay fellow that at times he goes 
 beyond the limits of literary propriety and decorum. 
 It almost makes one wince to find Johnson saying 
 to him at Ranelagh : " You know you would have 
 been with a wench had you not been here. Oh, I 
 forgot you were married !" There is an irreverent 
 flippancy here which makes it all but incredible that 
 Johnson would have uttered such a speech. The 
 indulgent way in which " being with a wench " is 
 treated, the implied reserve that it might be par- 
 doned in single folk, though not in a married person, 
 must shock admirers of the Sage. But did he say 
 the words ? — or was it only one of his boisterous 
 jests, though his friend conveys that it was made in 
 all seriousness ? By leaving the matter in doubt 
 Bozzy may have thought to score a strong point in 
 his own favour. And see the result of this idle 
 record ! Taken down in writing, printed in multi-
 
 17'> I'OrU'ril MOTOR FORCE [ni. V. 
 
 plied oditimis, vend l)y tens t)f lliousands of people, 
 the impression lett is tluit the great moralist thought 
 such lapses to be a trifling matter- at all events in 
 the unmarried man. Headers will reeall Boswell's 
 allusions to Mrs. Rudd, the adventuress who had 
 helped to hang the Perreaus. lie deseribes his 
 visits to this person, as if dictated by mere curiosity 
 to see one whom all the town was talking about. 
 Ev'en Johnson innocently declared that ** he envied 
 his friend for his acquaintance with her." It seems 
 certain, however, that Bozzy's intimacy was more 
 close than he chose to record ; it became notorious ; 
 and he was actually induced to write an account of 
 the lady — some sort of vindication, one presumes. 
 There is a song of his printed in her praise, which 
 implies that he had gone off with her to Ireland. 
 Nor is it difficult to gather something of the truth 
 from the strain of his allusions. He calls her " the 
 celebrated Margaret Caroline Rudd, whom I had 
 visited, induced by the fame of her talents, address, 
 and irresistible powers of fascination " — a very 
 deceptive description of the woman, who was a 
 coarse, abandoned creature. 
 
 One of his flames, or one whom he wished to 
 advertise as such, was Lady Diana Beauclerk. But 
 the way in which he treated this accomplished lady 
 of high degree — a Spencer by birth — formerly wife 
 of ]Mr. St. John, and now (after divorce) of John- 
 son's friend, was scandalous ; and yet, as we must
 
 cH. v.] WEIN UND WEIB 173 
 
 believe, he was so eager to publish the partiahty 
 he enjoyed that he could not resist announcing it 
 to the public. All through his book he carefully 
 records instances of his dallyings with the other 
 sex ; he notes each pretty face that he meets, and 
 the favour with which he is received. It is worth 
 while to follow his methods. When he was 
 anxiously awaiting the news of his fate at the Club, 
 he tells the reader that it was " Lady Di " who 
 kept him in talk to divert his thoughts by "her 
 charming conversation." Yet almost at the same 
 moment we find him endeavouring to apologize to 
 the Doctor for a divorced lady, excusing her because 
 the husband had treated her brutally, urging that 
 her delicacy had been wounded, and that while in 
 this state another had gained her heart. " Seduced 
 perhaps by the charms of the lady in question, I 
 thus attempted to palliate what could not be justi- 
 fied." " My dear friend," said the great man, 
 " never accustom your mind to mingle virtue and 
 
 vice. The woman's a , and there's an end on't." 
 
 The unseemly word Bozzy, incredible as it may 
 seem, sets down in its naked effrontery. The lady 
 was Lady Diana herself! She was alive at the 
 time to read the account. The whole Johnsonian 
 "set" must have recognized her on the instant. 
 Beauclerk had been dead some time, so she had no 
 protector. What rage, what grief, must she have 
 felt at finding the coarse words of the market asso-
 
 i:^ FOrUTII MOTOH FORCE [ni. v. 
 
 ciatcil with her name! Vet, indecent and des- 
 pieable as tlie act was. we believe IJoswell was 
 pert'eetly uneonseious that he was doin<jf «n^y- 
 tliinii; improper or un<rentlenianly. And w^hat 
 was his object { — To prove that he was favoured 
 and preferred by " a fine woman." Arguing 
 with Johnson as to the propriety of a neglected 
 wife retaliating, Boswell declared that he knew a 
 lady who upheld this system. Johnson roughly 
 said it was " sad stuff," and added : " This lady 
 of yours is only fit for a brothel," printing the 
 unbecoming word at length. This lady also may 
 have been alive at the time. These things seem 
 incredible, unbecoming, ungentlemanly, unworthy 
 of a decent person. True, the name is not supplied, 
 but any of the circle could have supplied it.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 FIFTH MOTOR FORCE — HUMOUR 
 
 The conventional biographer does not think of 
 retaiHng facetious anecdotes in which he himself 
 figures ; nor is he incHned even to figure with his 
 subject in comic situations. He is not entitled to 
 exhibit him grotesquely, or in an absurd position, 
 so as to excite a laugh. Forster, in the " Life of 
 Dickens," never attempts such liberties. Boswell, 
 however, has no scruples, and tells us many a 
 diverting tale— and tells them admirably — in which 
 he is the chief performer and commentator. He 
 recites also humours that have no connection with 
 the matter in hand, exactly as one writing his own 
 memoirs would do, such as that of the German 
 jumping over the chairs " to learn to be lively " — 
 a reminiscence of his own. All which is the 
 assertion of his own power and of his own position 
 and leadership. 
 
 Almost everything in Bozzy's character is a 
 puzzle and a mystery. How could so solemn and 
 literal a person — for such he was — be led on by his 
 vanity to utter propositions and make statements 
 
 175
 
 176 FIFTH .MOTOR FOUfF [ch. vi. 
 
 with all i^ra\ ily tliat could only he received with 
 
 loud laughter, such as, lor instance, his patent plan 
 
 for being roused in the morning by weights and 
 
 similar contrivances ? How could such a being be 
 
 endowed with the keenest sense of humour and 
 
 a perfect relish for the absurdities of others ^ He 
 
 could set out such follies in others with a sly irony 
 
 and reserve that is simply perfect and delightful. 
 
 His sense of humour was of the first class, strong, 
 
 delicate, and refined, dashed with a pleasant irony 
 
 which shows that he could see deeply enough. 
 
 \'ividly he could call up the situation, vividly 
 
 place it before us, and show in s quiet fashion 
 
 that he saw the latent absurdity. There are two 
 
 little stories which he tells in almost perfect style, 
 
 with a due reserve, leaving the reader to find out 
 
 the point for himself, and only expressing a smiling 
 
 enjoyment. Xo one was more acute in noting an 
 
 exhibition of folly in another, no one more blind in 
 
 his own case. 
 
 Take, for instance, his illustration of the 
 obsequious pomposity of Johnson to noblemen, 
 which seems always to have been intensely relished 
 by Bozzy. Thus, when a certain lord — Lord New- 
 haven — was at a dinner at which Johnson was 
 present, in discussing politics the nobleman took 
 the opposite side, but very respectfully said : " I 
 speak with great deference to you. Dr. Johnson." 
 " This had its full effect on my friend. He bowed
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 177 
 
 his head almost as low as the table to a complimen- 
 tary nobleman, and called out : ' My lord, my lord, 
 I do not desire all this ceremony : let us tell our 
 minds to one another.' After the debate was over, 
 he said : * / have got lights on the subject which I 
 had not before.' " The sly, respectful fashion in 
 which Bozzy reports all this is admirable. 
 
 Again, we claim admiration for the method 
 in which the following scene is described : 
 
 " A foreign Minister of no very high talents, who 
 had been in his company for a considerable time 
 quite overlooked, happened luckily to mention that 
 he had read some of his Rambler in Italian, and 
 admired it much. This pleased him greatly, and 
 finding that this Minister gave such a proof of his 
 taste, he was all attention to him, and on the first 
 remark which he made, however simple, exclaimed : 
 * The Ambassador says well,' ' His Excellency ob- 
 serves'; and then he expanded and enriched the 
 little that had been said in so strong a manner that 
 it appeared something of consequence. This was 
 exceedingly entertaining to the company who were 
 present, and many a time afterwards it furnished a 
 pleasant topic of merriment. ' The Ambassador 
 says well ' became a laughable term of applause 
 when no mighty matter had been expressed." We 
 could well imagine this tale related, say, of the late 
 John Forster, Dickens's friend, whom I often wit- 
 nessed behaving exactly as Johnson did on this occa- 
 
 12
 
 ITS ril'l'll MOTOR I'OIICK fcii. vi. 
 
 sioii. 1 could Imiu V liiin at a (liniicr-party where 
 tlu'iv was n straiiL^vr whom \\c had scarcely noticed. 
 Let us suppose tliis irentlcniau ha])peniiig to 
 ineutiou that he had read a translation of Forster's 
 *' Life of Cioldsuiith." Forster, pleased during the 
 rest of the dinner, might now listen to him with 
 the greatest attention, and when he said something 
 of a rather trifling sort, would be heard to say, 
 
 " Mr. says well," and would then amplify his 
 
 remark into something important. Later it might 
 beeome a sort of joke among Forster's friends as 
 a bit of ironical praise. Bozzy evidently heartily 
 enjoyed the revelation of his great friend's weak- 
 ness, though he soijs nothing to that effect. 
 
 Another story is equally happy, but more farcical. 
 Boswell places the solution before us with all the 
 skill of a first-class comedy- writer ; he almost sets 
 us down among the company. The Doctor was 
 telling in a mixed company of someone who had 
 married a printer's " devil," which caused some 
 amusement. " Then, looking very serious and very 
 earnest, he added : ' And she did not disgrace 
 him. The woman had a bottom of good sense.' 
 The word bottom thus introduced was so ludicrous 
 when contrasted with his gravity that we could not 
 help laughing, though I recollect that the Bishop 
 of Killaloe kept his countenance with perfect 
 steadiness, while Miss Hannah JMore shyly hid her 
 face behind a lady's back who sat on the same
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 179 
 
 settee with her. His pride could not bear that any 
 expression of his should excite ridicule when he 
 did not intend it ; he therefore resolved to assume 
 and exercise despotic power, and glanced sternly 
 around, and called out in a strong tone : ' Where's 
 the merriment ?' Then, collecting himself and 
 looking awful, to make us feel how he could 
 impose restraint, and as it were searching his 
 mind for a still more ludicrous word, he slowly 
 pronounced : ' T say the woman is fundamentally 
 sensible.' " 
 
 Boswell practised the art of reproducing the 
 style of other people, and once did so in the case 
 of a story told him by Beau clerk, " which I shall 
 endeavour to exhibit as well as I can in that 
 gentleman s lively manner.'' But the story is so 
 happily told — as a pictorial effort — that I am 
 convinced the delicate strokes are Bozzy's own. 
 
 Here is a pleasant, clever sketch full of true 
 humour : " Some time after this, upon his making 
 a remark, Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Hall were both 
 together striving to answer. He grew angry, and 
 called out loudly : ' Nay, when you both speak at 
 once it is intolerable.' But checking himself, and 
 softening, he said : ' This one may say, though you 
 are ladies.' Then he brightened into gay good- 
 humour, and addressed them in the words of one 
 of the songs in the ' Beggar's Opera ' : 
 
 " But two at a time no mortal can bear."
 
 ISO Firm MOTOR FORCE [en. vi. 
 
 'What, sir!" said 1, 'arc you ^oiu*"^ to turn Cap- 
 tain Mac'hcath r " There is soinetliiiig pleasantly 
 ludieroiis in tliis. 
 
 When Madame de Boiifllers M'as in England, 
 Heauelerk took her to see .Johnson in Temple 
 Lane, where she was entertained with his eon- 
 versation tor some time. " When our visit was 
 over," Boswell describes Heauelerk as saying, " she 
 and I left him, and when we got into Temple 
 Lane, all at once / heard a noise like thunder. 
 This w^as occasioned by Johnson, who it seems, 
 upon a little recollection, had taken it into his 
 head that he ought to have done the honours of his 
 literary residence to a foreign lady of quality, and, 
 eager to shove himself a man of gallantry, was 
 hurrijing dowji in violent agitation. He overtook 
 us before we reached the Temple Gate, and, 
 brushing in between us, seized her hand and con- 
 ducted her to her coach. His dress was a rusty 
 brown morning suit, a pair of old shoes by way of 
 slippers, a little shrivelled wig sticking on the top 
 of his head, and the sleeves of his shirt and the 
 knees of his breeches hanging loose." Here we 
 are looking on a perfect picture, and see and hear 
 the whole : Boswell visualized it at once. It w^as 
 a touch of character, so it appealed to him. 
 
 This sly comment on his friend's oddities is 
 admirable : " Generally, when he [Johnson] had 
 concluded a period in the course of a dispute, by
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 181 
 
 which he was a good deal exhausted by violence 
 and vociferation, he used to blow out his breath 
 like a whale. This, 1 suppose, was a relief to his 
 lungs, and seemed to him to be a contemptuous 
 mode of expression, as if he had made the argu- 
 ments of his opponent fly before the wind." Here 
 is a pleasant irony, while he affects admiration. 
 
 Often his sketches are perfect pictures, so vividly 
 drawn are they. Witness the following : " It was 
 not safe to make sport of one so robust as he was. 
 Mr. Langton saw him one day, in a fit of absence, 
 by a sudden start, drive the load off a porter's 
 back, and walk forward briskly without being 
 conscious of what he had done. The porter was 
 very angry, but stood still, and eyed the huge 
 figure with much earnestness, till he was satisfied 
 that his wisest course was to be quiet and take 
 up his burden again." Admirable subject for a 
 painter, and admirably painted. " Johnson and his 
 friend Beauclerk were once together in company 
 with several clergymen, who thought they would 
 appear to advantage by assuming the lax jollity of 
 men of the world ; which, as it may be observed in 
 similar cases, they carried to noisy excess. John- 
 son, who they expected would be entertained, sat 
 grave and silent for some time ; at last, turning 
 to Beauclerk, he said, by no means in a whisper : 
 ' This merriment of parsons is mighty offensive 
 — admirably chosen words I
 
 18« I'llTlI MOTOR FORCK [en. m. 
 
 Nooiic liacl a better eye for dnimatic cflect or lor 
 proiipiiiix His limncs and incidents so as to '' tell." 
 1 cH)iild not furnisli a better specimen than one 
 pleasant little story he relates. Foote he evidently 
 disliked, and the dislike was reciprocated. Once 
 talking over the actor with Johnson, Bosw^ell asked 
 him : 
 
 ••'I'ray, sir, is not Foote an infidel?' Johnson: 
 ' I do not know, sir, that the fellow is an infidel ; 
 but if he be an infidel, he is an infidel as a dog is 
 an infidel — that is to say, he has never thought 
 upon the subject.' Boswell : 'I suppose, sir, he 
 has thought superficially, and seized the first 
 notions which occurred to his mind.' Johnson : 
 ' Why then, sir, still he is like a dog that snatches 
 the piece next him.' " A happy, amusing criticism 
 with a ready illustration. 
 
 Boswell goes on to tell the sequel : " When 
 Mr. Foote was at Edinburgh, he thought fit to 
 entertain a numerous Scotch company with a great 
 deal of coarse jocularity at the expense of Dr. 
 Johnson, imagining it would be acceptable. I felt 
 this as not civil to me, but sat very patiently till 
 he had exhausted his merriment on that subject ; 
 and then observed, that surely Johnson must be 
 allowed to have some sterling wit, and that I had 
 heard him say a very good thing of Mr. Foote 
 himself. ' Ah, my old friend Sam ' (cried Foote), 
 ' no man says better things : do let us have it.'
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 183 
 
 Upon which I told the above story, which produced 
 a very loud laugh from the company. But I 
 never saw Foote so disconcerted. He looked 
 grave and angry, and entered into a serious refuta- 
 tion of the justice of the remark. ' What, sir ' (said 
 he), * talk thus of a man of liberal education ! a man 
 who for years was at the University of Oxford : a 
 man who has added sixteen new characters to the 
 English drama of his country !' " And of the three 
 figures in this dramatic scene, which is the most 
 important — Johnson, Foote, or Boswell ? 
 
 Boswell's delicate sense of mental analysis is 
 shown in the pleasant talk about " Gargantua," a 
 nickname given to the Doctor in some publication. 
 On Miss Reynolds asking the meaning of the appli- 
 cation, Johnson " was obliged to explain it to her, 
 which had something of an awkward and ludicrous 
 effect. ' Why, madam, it has a reference to me as 
 using big words which require the mouth of a giant 
 to pronounce them.' " Boswell, always ready, quoted 
 another line that also applied to him. But Johnson 
 said : " No, sir — Gargantua." But presently, when 
 Johnson asked, " Who said that ?" Boswell, with his 
 usual lack of tact, answered, " Gargantua," which 
 was somewhat of a liberty, as was, indeed, at once 
 conveyed to him ; for he noticed that the Sage 
 " looked serious," which was an indication that " he 
 did not wish it to be kept up." What touches of 
 character are here ! — Johnson of a sudden resent-
 
 184 Finn MOTOR F()1{('K [cii. vi. 
 
 in«T wliat he had a inoiiicMit hctbrc approved ; and, 
 best of alh Hozzys utter unconsciousness that he 
 was guilty of an impropriety. I venture to say 
 that any skilled writer who tried to tell this story 
 would Hnd it difHeult to better convey the delicate 
 points touched here. 
 
 It is impossible not to laugh at another farcical 
 sketch where Dr. Taylor cuts a droll figure : * 
 " Dr. Taylor's nose happening to bleed, he said it 
 was because he had omitted to have himself blooded 
 four days after a quarter of a year's interval. 
 Dr. Johnson, wiio was a great dabbler in physic, 
 disapproved much of periodical bleeding. . . . 
 * I do not like to take an emetic,' said Doctor 
 Taylor, * for fear of breaking some small vessels.' 
 
 * One is always inclined to turn away from the habitual 
 joking man. He lives in an atmosphere of unreality, if 
 not of untruth, for his comic view of things is mostly an 
 untrue one. A Kempis on several occasions deals severely 
 with such professors of mirth. " If you would make any 
 progress, be not too free; curb all your senses under dis- 
 cipline, and give not yourself up to foolish mirth. ... It 
 is wonderful that any man can ever abandon himself wholly 
 to joy in this life when he considers and weighs his exile. 
 Through levity of heart and shortening of our defects, we 
 feel not the sorrows of the soul. We often vainly laugh 
 when we ought to weep." 
 
 ITie spirit of comedy is an altogether different thing. 
 True comedy is one of the genuine, necessary delights of life. 
 It is the great cure for follies. It blows them away into the 
 air or dissolves them. It pierces to the truth, and shows 
 things in their nakedness. But true comedy, alas ! is now 
 extinct.
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 185 
 
 ' Poh ! ' said Johnson, ' if you have so many 
 things that will break, you had better break your 
 neck at once, and there's an end on't. You 
 will break no small vessels ' {blowing with much 
 derision)." 
 
 Boswell's sketch of Catcot, the Bristol pewterer 
 and ardent believer in the Chatterton forgeries, is 
 another of his happy pictures. " Dr. Johnson, at 
 his desire, read aloud several of Chatterton's fabri- 
 cated verses, while Catcot stood at the back of his 
 chair, moving himself like a pendulum, and beating 
 time with his feet, and now and then looking into 
 Johnson's face, and wondering he was not yet con- 
 vinced. Honest Catcot seemed to pay no attention 
 whatever to any objections, but insisted, as an end 
 of all controversy, that we should go with him to 
 the tower of St. Mary Redcliffe, and view with 
 our own eyes the ancient chest in which the manu- 
 scripts were found." The Doctor good-naturedly 
 agreed, and toiled up the long stair till they came 
 to " the wonderful chest." " ' There,' said Catcot, 
 with abounding confident credulity — ' there is the 
 very chest itself.' After this ocular demonstration 
 there was no more to be said." (We think of 
 Mr. Pickwick's " bouncing confident credulity " in 
 the matter of the Cobham stone ; he was satisfied 
 with being assured that it had been in situ beyond 
 all recollection, which was true, though it did not 
 apply to the inscription.) How pleasantly humorous
 
 186 FIFFII MOTOR FORCE [en. vi. 
 
 is the scene, and Hoswell's sly enjoyment of the 
 ^^IK)le I He certainly excelled in snch dniwinf^s. 
 
 Hozzy knew well how to give a point to a ''good 
 thinii;^ " in otiier words, liow^ to " carry a story." 
 His touch is light, and he deals with the essentials 
 only. How well, for instance, is the following pre- 
 sented ! In one of his discussions, when Johnson 
 was considering wine-drinking, Boswell reminded 
 him how he used to sit up drinking \vith him at the 
 ^litre, and how he used to have a headache after. 
 Here was a lack of tact, for it implied that he was 
 led by Johnson into these excesses. " He did not 
 like to have this recalled, or perhaps, thinking that 
 I had boasted improperly, resolved to have a witty 
 stroke at me. ' Nay, sir, it w^as not the wine that 
 made your head ache, but the sense I put into it.' 
 
 * What, sir, does sense make the head ache ?' 
 
 * Yes, sir,' with a smile, ' when it is not used to it.' " 
 The wit and readiness here are equal. But how 
 happily Bozzy puts it before us ! that touch " with 
 a smile " saves all description. But it suddenly 
 occurs to him, oddly enough, that people might 
 think there was here something uncivil. For he 
 says, " No man with a true sense of pleasantry 
 could be offended at this," especially as Johnson 
 had given him repeated proofs of his regard and 
 estimation. Thus does he exhibit to us the little 
 currents of his mind. 
 
 I have said that Boswell's acuteness in discrimi-
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 187 
 
 nating mental phenomena was surprising. For 
 instance : " Mr. Beauclerk was very entertaining 
 this day, and told us a number of short stories in a 
 Hvely, elegant manner, and with that air of the world 
 which has I know not what impressive effect, as 
 if there were something more than is expressed or 
 than perhaps we would understand" This is very 
 happy. 
 
 We cannot sufficiently admire Bozzy's apprecia- 
 tion of striking touches of character. They appeal 
 to him, and no one knows better how to set them 
 in a humorous light. Thus, of Richardson's vanity : 
 " One day at his country-house, where an eager 
 company was assembled at dinner, a gentleman 
 who was just returned from Paris, willing to please 
 Mr. Richardson, mentioned to him a very flattering 
 circumstance — that he had seen his ' Clarissa ' lying 
 on the King's brother's table. Richardson, ob- 
 serving that part of the company were engaged in 
 talking to each other, affected not to hear it. But 
 by-and-by, when there was a general silence, and 
 he thought that the flattery might be fully heard, 
 he addressed himself to the gentleman : ' I think, 
 
 sir, you were saying something about V ' It 
 
 was nothing, sir, a matter not worth attention.'" 
 
 Equally piquant and humorous is his telhng 
 of another story in which " Goldy " figured, who, 
 he said, was " still more mortified when, talking 
 in company vf it\\ fluent vivacity, and, as he flattered
 
 188 FIFril MOTOR FORCE [cii. vi. 
 
 himself, to llu> .uliniraliDii of all who were present, 
 a CTcnnan who sat next liim, and pereeived Johnson 
 rolling hinisclfiis if dboiil to spca/c, suddenly stopped 
 him, sayiuLC : * Stop, slop ! Dr. Shonson is about 
 to say sonicthin<i^.' This, no doubt, was very pro- 
 voking, especially to one so irritable as Goldsmith, 
 who frequently mentioned it with strong expres- 
 sions of indignation/' The irony of the last few 
 words is admirable — Boswell affecting to sympathize 
 with his friend. 
 
 Again, take the Bear story. " The mention of 
 the wolf had led Johnson to think of other wild 
 beasts, and while Sir Joshua and Mr. Langton 
 were carrying on a dialogue about something which 
 engaged them earnestly, he in the midst broke out : 
 ' Pennant tells of bears ' (W'hat he added I have 
 forgotten). They w^ent on, which he, being dull 
 of hearing, did not perceive, or, if he did, was not 
 willing to break off his talk ; so he continued to 
 vociferate his remarks, and ' bear,' ' like a word in 
 a catch,' as Beauclerk said, was repeatedly heard 
 at intervals. This coming from him, who had been 
 so often assimilated to that ferocious animal, while 
 we who were sitting round could hardly stifle 
 laughter, produced a very ludicrous effect." Ad- 
 mirably told and well coloured. 
 
 I always think that for dramatic effect and true 
 character nothing could excel the effect of one little 
 sketch. During a long theological discussion Gold-
 
 cH. VI.] HUMOUR 189 
 
 smith had been listening while the Doctor thun- 
 dered away. " During this argument Goldsmith 
 sat in restless agitation, from a wish to get in and 
 shine. Finding himself excluded, he had taken his 
 hat to go away, but remained for some time with it 
 in his hand, like a gamester who at the close of a 
 long night lingers for a little while to see if he can 
 have a favourable opening to finish with success. 
 Once when he was beginning to speak, he found 
 himself overpowered by the loud voice of Johnson, 
 who was at the opposite end of the table and did 
 not perceive Goldsmith's attempt. Thus disap- 
 pointed of his wish to obtain the attention of the 
 company, Goldsmith in a passion threw down his 
 hat, looking angrily at Johnson, and exclaiming in a 
 bitter tone, ' Take it.' When Toplady was going 
 to speak, Johnson uttered some sound, which led 
 Goldsmith to think that he was beginning again and 
 taking the words from Toplady. Upon which, he 
 seized this opportunity of venting his own envy and 
 spleen, under the pretext of supporting another 
 person ; ' Sir,' said he to Johnson, ' the gentleman 
 has heard you patiently for an hour : pray allow us 
 now to hear him.' Johnson (sternly) : ' Sir, I was 
 not interrupting the gentleman. I was only giving 
 him a signal of my attention. Sir, you are imperti- 
 nent.' Goldsmith made no reply, but continued in 
 the company for some time." 
 
 How vivid, how true to life, the shades of
 
 100 FIITH MOTOR FORCE [en. vr. 
 
 character ! Tlic only Mcmish or mistake is the 
 suirirestion of *' spleen and envy," whieli is too 
 heavy and t^ross a toueli for tlie situation — Goldy 
 was merely "put out." But it is altof^cther 
 masterly, and excjuisitely visualized. The ending, 
 too, is equally dramatic. The talk went on, the whole 
 party adjourned to the Club, "where we found " 
 new company, " and amongst them oin- friend 
 Goldsmith, ic/io sat silenthf brooding over Johnson's 
 
 reprimand to him lohnson perceived this, 
 
 and said aside to some of us, ' I'll make Goldsmith 
 forgive me,' and then called to him in a loud 
 voice, ' Dr. Goldsmith, something passed to-day 
 where you and I dined ; I ask your pardon.' 
 Goldsmith answered placidly, ' It must be much 
 from you, sir, that I take ill.' And so at once 
 the difference was over, and they were on as easy 
 terms as ever, and Goldsmith rattled away as 
 usual." 
 
 Johnson said : '* Sir, I don't know but if Peter 
 had cultivated all the arts of gaiety as David has 
 done, he might have been as brisk and lively. 
 Depend upon it, sir, vivacity is much an art, and 
 depends greatly on habit." How pleasant are 
 these touches and how agreeably they come in ! 
 Then Mr. Boswell takes his place and gives his 
 judgment : " / believe there is a good deal of truth 
 in this, notwithstanding a ludicrous story told me 
 by a lady abroad, of a heavy German Baron who
 
 cH. VI.] HUMOUR 191 
 
 had lived much with a young English party at 
 Geneva, and was ambitious to be as lively as they, 
 with which view he, with assiduous exertion [a 
 Johnsonism], was jumping over the tables and 
 chairs in his lodgings. And when the people of 
 the house ran in and asked what was the matter, 
 he answered, ^ J'apprends d'etre fif.''' Few stories 
 have been more quoted than this. 
 
 But a truly ZofFany-like portrait is that of the 
 candidate poet who had brought his verses to John- 
 son. It is masterly ; we all but see and hear him. 
 The poem was a translation of Horace's " Carmen 
 Seculare." The author bluntly asked his critic " if 
 it was a good one." "Johnson, whose regard for 
 truth was uncommonly strict, seemed to be puzzled 
 for a moment what answer to make, but with 
 ingenuity evaded the question thus : ' I do not 
 say that it may not be made a good translation.' 
 A printed ode to ' The Warlike Genius of 
 Britain' came next in review. The bard was a 
 lank, bony figure with short black hair ; he was 
 writhing himself in agitation while Johnson read, 
 and showing his teeth in a grin of earnestness, and 
 exclaimed in broken sentences and a sharp, keen 
 tone : 'Is that poetry, sir ? Is that Pindar ?' 
 ' Why, sir,' said Johnson, ' there is a great deal 
 of what is called poetry.' Then, turning to me, 
 the poet cried : 'My muse has not been long upon 
 the town, and ' (pointing to the ode) ' it trembles
 
 19f FIFTH MOTOR FORCE frn. vi. 
 
 under t!ic liaiul of tlie great critit/ Johnson, who 
 was still stem, said: 'Here is an error, sir; you 
 have made u^enius feminine.' ' Palpable, sir,' 
 eried the enthusiast, * / /i'/iorc if : but' (in a lower 
 tone) ' it was to pay a eomplimcnt to the Duehess 
 of Devonshire, witli whieh lier Grace was pleased. 
 She is walking across Coxheath in the military, 
 and 1 suppose her to be the genius of Britain.' 
 ' Sir,' said Johnson, * you are giving a reason for 
 it, but that will not make it right. You may have 
 a reason why two and two should make five, but 
 they will still make four.'" The scene is vividly 
 dramatic : the rough figure of Johnson sitting in 
 judgment, the mad poet with his genius in 
 regimentals, Bozzy looking on. What a touch 
 that " showing his teeth in a grin of earnestness " ! 
 
 But, again, how did Boswell contrive to store up 
 so accurately all these details of the scene ? It 
 was really because he had this power of seizing on 
 the whole humorous aspect of the picture ; so 
 vividly was this impressed on his memory that, no 
 doubt, a few days after he was describing the whole 
 to friends, \\dth all the dramatic colouring complete. 
 And the picture supplied him with the dialogue. 
 He thus re-created it. Without this humorous 
 appreciation he would not have succeeded. 
 
 Boswell's spirit of humour was of the true 
 kind — reserved, refined, and mellow. It was the 
 most fortunate thing in the world for his book
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 193 
 
 that he was thus provided ; otherwise we might 
 have had Johnson presented to us under literal 
 conditions, all his sayings being described with an 
 accurate, heavy touch — which, after all, must 
 destroy the effect. 
 
 It is difficult to describe what is a truly 
 humorous style. The author must not be conscious 
 of style at all — that is, he must be unaffected. He 
 must pierce below the chalk, and come to the pure 
 water. 
 
 One of the most singular discussions that have 
 occurred of late is one which arose out of some soi- 
 disant vindication of Goldsmith, who, it was pre- 
 sumed, was unjustly assailed, from jealousy or 
 malice, by Boswell. This is a truly absurd mistake, 
 because it takes Bozzy too seriously. He treated 
 Goldsmith exactly as he treated all his con- 
 temporaries, of whatever degree, who chose to 
 stand in his way or give him annoyance — un- 
 ceremoniously and roughly. He spoke of him as 
 he did of all the rest — without mincing. It is 
 enough to mention that he describes the little 
 quarrel with Johnson, which really gives the most 
 favourable and engaging portrait of the poet. 
 
 It is astonishing that these critics should not have 
 seen that this self-constituted judge of the society 
 represented the general opinion of Goldy, as an 
 eager, clever, hurried Irishman, blundering out his 
 thoughts without pause or reflection, but good- 
 
 13
 
 194 FIITH MOTOR FORCE [c ii. vi. 
 
 licartcd and i^ood-natured all the time. It was 
 clear that .lohnson had an allection for him and 
 respected liim — l'eelint>;s that lie scarcely entertained 
 tor lU)s\vell. 1 doubt if he ever really loved his 
 ti^reat admirer. It is not too much to say that we 
 owe to Boswell the best and most favourable sketch 
 of Goldsmith. JNIost amusing and dramatic are 
 the tales he tells. Boswell, in fact, saw that poor 
 Goldsmith was treated good-humouredly as a sort 
 of '' butt," and accordingly followed suit. We 
 can see from the accounts that he had little respect 
 for Boswell, and spoke to him without ceremony, 
 laughing at him for thinking of " lugging " the 
 Doctor about Scotland. This kind of Irishman, 
 though full of joke and jest, can make himself very 
 " nasty at times." 
 
 The connection may be a little remote, but, it 
 seems to me that there is a strong flavour of Bos- 
 wellian humour to be found in Dickens's master- 
 piece, " Pickwick." Dickens, who was a general 
 reader, and even a little recondite in his studies, was 
 very familiar with that era ; and as there are some 
 things in his work actually introduced from Bos- 
 well's, it is hardly going too far to say that the 
 general idea was suggested from the same quarter. 
 A travelling party, a club with a president and 
 "followers," a curious likeness in the characters of the 
 leaders, each being despotic, if not tyrannical — the 
 very Christian names being the same — these were
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 195 
 
 points of resemblance ; but a greater resemblance 
 is found in the tone of the two stories. Many of the 
 Pickwickian displays of temper might be trans- 
 ferred to the hero of the Life, with only a change 
 of names. 
 
 Not many have noted the curious similarity 
 between the two great books, Bozzy's " Johnson " 
 and Boz's "Pickwick." The eager, enthusiastic 
 boy Dickens was deeply impressed by the various 
 great writers he read or devoured. Fielding, 
 Smollett, Scott, and Boswell — we can trace them 
 in all his writings. Boswell's work was supremely 
 in his way and to his fancy. We have only to 
 think of it : the notion of a dictatorial man at the 
 head of a party, a despot over his friends, perpetu- 
 ally laying down the law, constantly travelling 
 about attended by an obsequious friend. We 
 have Johnson and his Boswell, Pickwick and his 
 Winkle ; indeed, Boz once wrote an excellent 
 parody of Bozzy's style. 
 
 In January 1773, we find the Doctor writing : 
 " I dined yesterday on crumpets.''' This is a 
 strange, unusual dish for a dinner, but it is 
 certain to suggest to us Pickwick and Sam 
 Weller. Boz's curious adaptation of the Buttered 
 Muffin story is worth considering in this view. 
 Beauclerk mentioned a friend who, loving buttered 
 muffins but being unable to digest them, deter- 
 mined on suicide, previous to which he ate a hearty
 
 196 FltTH MOTOR FORCE fcii. m. 
 
 iiR'al oi' tlic dainties, knowing tlint he would have 
 no suUerint^s iViun the cfrect. We know wluit a 
 humorous picture Hoz evolved out oi" this — how 
 Sam described a dyspeptic who every night had his 
 quantimi of crumpets until he was forbidden by 
 the doctor to touch them, as a course of crumpets 
 would assuredly kill him. '* But how many ?" 
 asked the patient. — " So many dozen." He 
 ordered them, and, as Sam related it, " eat em all 
 and blew his brains out." 
 
 The delightfully enjoyable scenes at Rasay are 
 suggested again as we read in " Pickwick " of the 
 Christmas festivities at Manor Farm. It is certain 
 Boz had the whole tone of the proceedings in his 
 retentive mind, and perfectly set before us the same 
 sense of social happiness. 
 
 Everyone will recall the painful scene when 
 Bozzy could not help bursting into a laugh at the 
 notion of the Doctor keeping a seraglio, and was 
 " sat upon " and overwhelmed with ridicule and 
 " degrading images" for his disrespect. Who will 
 forget Mr. Pickwick's rage with Tupman because 
 he appeared to laugh at his chief's appearing in 
 silk stockings for the first time ? The spirit of 
 both scenes was the same. He treated Winkle 
 with the same insulting tyranny when he ordered 
 his skates to be taken off as Johnson did in the 
 case of his henchman on a hundred occasions in 
 presence of the public.
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 197 
 
 It is an odd coincidence, by the way, that the 
 Doctor attended reviews at Rochester on the 
 *' lines " just as Mr. Pickwick did ; nay, the Doctor 
 may have stayed at the Bull Inn — who knows ? 
 The Doctor attended an election at Plymouth, and 
 pretended to assume a sort of partisan spirit, 
 calling the other side " Dockers." Mr. Pick- 
 wick, when he arrived, affected to give himself 
 out as being on Slumkey's side because he knew 
 his solicitor. And both were in a debtors' prison. 
 
 Once Dr. Johnson said, " You are frightened by 
 what is no longer dangerous, like Presbyterians by 
 Popery," and repeated a passage from Butler 
 which ends thus, " and would cry, ' Fire I fire !' 
 in Noah's flood." It will be recalled how, when 
 Mr. Pickwick fell through the ice, his friend Tup- 
 man set off up the country, shouting " Fire ! fire !" 
 as the most appropriate way, etc. 
 
 Most curious likeness of all is the scene when, 
 during some festivity in the Highlands, a pretty 
 young married lady came up to Johnson and gave 
 him a kiss. In like manner at Manor Farm during 
 Christmas Mr. Pickwick was rushed at by all the 
 ladies and summarily kissed. 
 
 I don't know whether one scene would instantly 
 suggest a scene from " Pickwick " to the reader. 
 It does to me, and at least has the flavour and 
 atmosphere of a certain scene at Birmingham. 
 This was Mr. Pickwick's arrival with his two
 
 19S FIFTH :M0T0U force f( II. M. 
 
 drunken Iriends in that t-itv, and Iiis c'allin<»' on tlic 
 old wharfinnvr at ni^lit. 
 
 Bozzy's exhibition in tlic matter of the Doctor's 
 nii^liteap was truly absurd, and, being before 
 eompany, irritated him exceedingly. It was during 
 the Scotch tour ; tlie company were gathered 
 round, and the " follower," Avishing to start some- 
 thing that would "set off" his chief, hit on this 
 unlucky topic. He pressed him : *' Why, sir, do 
 you not wear a nightcap ?" The Doctor answered 
 him roughly and scoffingly ; the poor questioner 
 was loudly laughed at ; a " foolish question," the 
 Doctor said it was, and that no one in the world 
 before the previous querist had thought of wanting 
 to know why people did or did not wear nightcaps. 
 It will be recollected that a good deal turned on 
 Mr. Pickwick's nightcap : and who will forget it in 
 the double-bedded room or in the Fleet ? 
 
 It will be recollected too, that that would-be gay 
 dog Tupman, in spite of his corpulency, on entering 
 Wardle's house, where he was a stranger, ran off 
 after one of the pretty maids — a gross violation of 
 good manners ; only, he fared worse than Bozzy. 
 
 We may even find that the Doctor had his 
 Jingle, who attempted to make him his victim, 
 and who in his turn succeeded in baffling his 
 attempts. Sam Foote — yet another Sam — may be 
 considered to have filled this character. He was 
 humorous in discourse, an adventurer, always in
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 199 
 
 scrapes and difficulties, shut up in the debtors' 
 prison, and an actor. When insulted by Jingle, 
 Mr. Pickwick, it will be recollected, "hurled an 
 inkstand " after him ; and when Foote announced 
 that he would mimic the Doctor on the stage, the 
 latter brought a cudgel with which to beat him 
 off it. 
 
 As another odd coincidence, it may be worth 
 noting that Boswell's brother and Dickens's father 
 were both employed in the same public office — viz., 
 the Navy Pay Department. These are but fanciful 
 speculations, after all, but the likeness is interesting 
 enough. 
 
 We can see from the modern memoirs, collec- 
 tions, diaries, etc., now pouring from the Press, 
 how imperfectly their writers understand how to 
 describe the incidents they have to relate. They 
 seem ignorant of the art of selection, the knowledge 
 of what is essential. 1 myself, who am always 
 reading — nay, devouring — memoirs, old and new, 
 can note this extraordinary contrast, and can affirm 
 from experience that Boswell is supreme. None, 
 save perhaps the French, can relate personal 
 incidents with the true proportion. Let anyone 
 read Thiebault's Napoleonic Recollections, and he 
 will note the delightful ease, lack of affectation, 
 and good-humour, which distinguish it and many 
 more of the kind. Our moderns have not tliis 
 light touch nor this sense of due proportion. Had
 
 200 FIITII MOTOR FORCE [ni. vi. 
 
 any one of them been furnished with Boswell's 
 stock of maiuiscript inateriiil, anecdotes, etc., we 
 should lia\ c had thcni set forth with a due weight 
 and gravity, with solemn descriptions and com- 
 ments. The almost slang phrase " touch and 
 go " has a deeper meaning than is commonly sup- 
 posed ; for there are many trifles that one need 
 merely allude to — ejUleurer, as the French have it — 
 and then pass on. 
 
 But Bozzy tells his tale with a placid enjoyment, 
 'vvnithout strain or exertion, and with supreme 
 reserve. There is no waste or piling up of words ; 
 everything is calm and natural. It is no exaggera- 
 tion to say that he was singularly gifted in this 
 way, and, by a happy chance, as I have said, he was 
 exactly fitted to be the chronicler of the Johnsonian 
 humours. 
 , One of the most interesting revelations of Bos- 
 well's motley character is the fashion in which on 
 : every opportunity he takes care to disclose to us 
 Vhis own cherished thoughts and feelings. These 
 take the form of little meditations and speculations, 
 exhibiting his own favourite " dreams " or " pet 
 fancies " which have often passed through his mind, 
 and which he indulged in at stray moments. These 
 are upon all subjects — religion, reminiscences of 
 past scenes, reflections on important and interest- 
 ing matters — but all tinged with his own peculiar 
 fancies. He stops and puts aside altogether his
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 201 
 
 great chief and his doings, and turns to supply a 
 picture of himself and his feelings as a contribution 
 to his own autobiography. These revelations ex- 
 cite our interest in his amiable nature. The whole 
 makes quite a picture. 
 
 " As we sailed along by moonlight, in a sea 
 somewhat rough, and often between black and 
 gloomy rocks, Dr. Johnson said : ' If this be not 
 roving among the Hebrides, nothing is.' The 
 repetition of words which he had often used made 
 a strong impression on my imagination, and by a 
 natural course of thinking led me to consider how 
 our present adventures would appear to me at a 
 future period. I have often experienced that the 
 scenes through which a man has passed improve by 
 lying in memory ; they grow mellow. This may 
 be owing to comparing them with present listless 
 ease. Even harsh memories acquire a softness by 
 length of time, and some are like very loud sounds, 
 which do not please, or at least do not please so 
 much, till you are removed to a certain distance. 
 They may be compared to strong, coarse pictures, 
 which will not bear to be viewed near. Even 
 pleasing scenes improve by time, and seem more 
 exquisite in recollection than when they were 
 present, if they have not faded to dimness in the 
 memory. Perhaps there is so much lost in every 
 human enjoyment, so much dross mixed with it, 
 that it requires to be refined by time ; and yet 1 do
 
 202 FIFTH MOTOR FORCE [cu. vr. 
 
 not see why tinu' sliould not melt away the good 
 and the evil in equal proportions, why the shade 
 slioiild not deeay and the light remain in equal pro- 
 pintions." xVll which is eharming, spoken from the 
 very heart, and expressed with equal grace and 
 truth. 
 
 There is much in all this to redeem Bozzy's many 
 failings, for here he shows himself truly genuine. 
 But where does his great friend come in ? Are not 
 such things, however pleasing, outside the Doctor's 
 biography ? 
 
 Yes, Boswell's was a feeling, affectionate heart, 
 that could express its emotions without the least 
 affectation, and at the same time set past scenes 
 before us in a perfectly artistic way. Nothing 
 shows this better than his description of an enter- 
 tainment at the Adelphi given by Mrs. Garrick — 
 the first after her husband's death. The whole is 
 sketched w4th the utmost delicacy and natural feel- 
 ing. I never cross its Terrace without glimpses of 
 Boswell's account rising before me. 
 
 " On Friday, April 20 " [1781], says the enthusi- 
 astic chronicler, " I spent with him one of the 
 happiest days that I remember to have enjoyed in the 
 whole course of my life. JMrs. Garrick, whose grief 
 for the loss of her husband was, I believe, as 
 sincere as wounded affection and admiration could 
 produce, had this day, for the first time since his 
 death, a select party of his friends to dine with her :"
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 203 
 
 a pleasing and right fashion of commemorating the 
 dead, and so properly understood by Boswell. The 
 party consisted of the Doctor and his aide ; Hannah 
 More, whom INIrs. Garrick called her chaplain ; Mrs. 
 Boscawen, Mrs. E. Carter, Sir J. Reynolds, Dr. 
 Burney. " We found ourselves very elegantly enter- 
 tained at her house, where I have passed many a 
 pleasing hour with one ' who gladdened life.' She 
 looked well, talked of her husband with com- 
 placency, and, while she cast her eyes on his 
 portrait which hung over the chimneypiece, said 
 that ' death was now the most agreeable object to 
 her.' The very semblance of Garrick was cheering." 
 
 How pleasantly confidential is Boswell in all 
 these little details, just introduced en passant, as it 
 were, and giving movement to his story ! " We 
 were all in fine form," he goes on, " and I whis- 
 pered to Mrs. Boscawen, ' I believe this is as much 
 as can be made of life.' In addition to a splendid 
 entertainment, we were regaled with Lichfield ale, 
 which had a peculiar appropriate value. Dr. 
 Burney and I drank cordially to Dr. Johnson's 
 health, and he, although he would not join us as 
 cordially, answered : ' Gentlemen, I wish you all as 
 well as you do me.' The general effect of this day 
 dwells upon my mind in fond remembrance." 
 
 Many of us will recall feelings of this kind 
 associated with the past, though we lack Boswell's 
 graceful, natural power to record them, when a soft,
 
 201 FIl-TII MOTOR FORCE [ni. vi. 
 
 sweet, indistinct cloud seems to hover over all that 
 is gone. 
 
 A large party came in the evening, when a 
 pleasant little comedy was played, though quite 
 unintended — that is, when the Doctor burst in on 
 them with his " bottom of sense." But through all 
 do we not see that it is Boswell who supplied the 
 interpretation, the notes, the sentiment ? He lays 
 on the tints ; we hardly think of the Sage. 
 
 Dickens had much of this gracious, tender feeling 
 of retrospect as he called up memories of his child- 
 hood — the delightful Christmas celebrations at 
 Dingley Dell and other places, for example. 
 
 " He and I walked away together. We stopped 
 a little while by the rails of the Adelphi, looking 
 on the Thames ; and I said to him, with some 
 emotion, that I was now thinking of two friends we 
 had lost, w^ho once lived in the buildings behind us 
 — Beau clerk and Garrick. ' Ay, sir,' said he 
 tenderly, ' and two such friends as cannot be 
 supplied.' " 
 
 Boswell had an extraordinary gift of setting 
 before one the general tone and atmosphere of a 
 place, with the characters who filled the scene. 
 Thus, he w^ould go to some country town on a 
 visit, and completely bring back its peculiar flavour. 
 Dickens also had this gift ; witness his pictures of 
 Rochester and Bath, which are truly remarkable for 
 their vitality and distinctness. An ordinary person
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 205 
 
 might be more abundant, and even exhaustive, in 
 details, but would fail to convey the local character- 
 istics. In this way, how admirable and delightful 
 was the account of his visit to Ashbourne ! How 
 animated and genial it is, and how vividly drawn 
 the characters ! — Dr. Taylor, the burly, mundane 
 Vicar, is put in with many admirable touches. 
 There is something of an almost Pickwickian 
 freedom in his treatment. 
 
 How often will those who have been on a visit to 
 a house in or near some country town have been 
 impressed by the novel and interesting impressions 
 of such places — the old-fashioned inn, the local 
 characters, and their simplicity and kindliness ! 
 Such will recognize how admirably and pictur- 
 esquely Boswell has caught and limned, as it were, 
 the tone of the Ashbourne visit. How prettily, 
 for instance, and how vivaciously, can he sketch 
 little trivial incidents ! He makes an acute and 
 very shrewd remark, which is worth storing up and 
 putting away for use : " I felt a pleasure in walking 
 about Derby, such as I always have in walking 
 about any town to which I am not accustomed. 
 There is an immediate sensation of novelty; and 
 one speculates on the way in which life is passed 
 in it, which, although there is a sameness every- 
 where upon the whole, is yet minutely diversified. 
 The minute diversities in everything are wonder- 
 ful."
 
 206 FIFIH MOTOR FORCE [cir. vi. 
 
 These personal rliapsodies, as they may be called, 
 into wliith he was constantly breaking forth, have 
 no connection whatever with any known rules of 
 bioiT^raphy, though they find their proper place in 
 autobiooraphy — as in the case of his grand protest 
 on behalf of his wife, which rivals Elijah Pogram's 
 famous outburst. 
 
 During his stay with Dr. Taylor, Boswell seems 
 to have fallen into a state of special exuberance 
 or extravagance, owing to his happy state of 
 feeling ; he himself being a pleasant addition for 
 the elderly pair, one of whom was always talking 
 of bullocks, and therefore welcomed so mer- 
 curial and entertaining a visitor. Bozzy, thus 
 feeling his own value and importance, evidently 
 exerted himself to please. 
 
 The description of the varied scenes that occurred 
 at this place is full of life and colour. It is, indeed, 
 the best portion of the book. So vivid is the whole 
 account, that w^hen 1 visited Ashbourne I seemed 
 to recognize everything, particularly the tranquil 
 tone, and kept saying to myself, " Surely I must 
 have been here before." One of Bozzy 's happy 
 words of description is " luminous," applied to the 
 church — and so it is. 
 
 One scene is admirable for its simplicity and 
 picturesqueness. After Bozzy had worshipped one 
 Sunday in this large " luminous " church, he makes 
 this odd reflection : "I felt great satisfaction in
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 207 
 
 considering that I was supported in my fondness 
 for solemn public worship by the general con- 
 currence and munificence of mankind." Of course, 
 it was not of much moment to the reader that 
 Mr. Boswell was satisfied with the public approval ; 
 but he felt it necessary to register his own feeling, 
 and appeal to the general sense. 
 
 This sense of the charm of past scenes was shown 
 in an engaging fashion in his account of this visit, 
 lighted up with more and yet more rumination — all 
 personal and introspective. 
 
 " One morning after breakfast, when the sun 
 shone bright, we walked out together, and ' pored ' 
 for some time with placid indolence upon an 
 artificial waterfall, which Dr. Taylor had made 
 by building a strong dyke of stone across the river 
 behind the garden. It was now somewhat ob- 
 structed by branches of trees and other rubbish 
 which had come down the river and settled close 
 to it. Johnson, partly from a desire to see it play 
 more freely, and partly from that inclination to 
 activity which will animate, at times, the most 
 inert and sluggish mortal, took a long pole which 
 was lying on a bank, and pushed down several 
 parcels of this wreck with painful assiduity, while 
 I stood quietly by, wondering to behold the Sage 
 thus curiously employed, and smiling with a humor- 
 ous satisfaction each time when he carried his point. 
 He worked till he was quite out of breath ; and
 
 208 VWni MOTOR 1-^ORCE [cu. vt. 
 
 l»;i\inn' t'ound a large dead eat so lieavy tliat he 
 eould not move it after sevenil efforts, ' Come,' 
 said lie (throwing down the pole), ' you shall take 
 it now :' whicli 1 accordingly did, and, being a 
 fresh man, soon made the cat tumble over the 
 cascade." 
 
 There is a sort of dramatic feeling here, and it is 
 brilliantly touched off; though all about a trifie, 
 how vividly it comes before us ! He himself adds : 
 
 " This may be laughed at as too trifling to 
 record ; but it is a small characteristic trait in the 
 Flemish picture which I give of my friend, and in 
 which, therefore, I mark the most minute parti- 
 culars. And let it be remembered that ' ^sop at 
 play ' is one of the most instructive apologues of 
 antiquity." 
 
 But as to this matter of trivialities, our chronicler 
 can justify himself in his own persuasive fashion 
 
 " I cannot allow any fragment whatever that 
 floats in my memory concerning the great subject 
 of this w^ork to be lost. Though a small particular 
 may appear trifling to some, it will be relished by 
 others ; while every little spark adds something to 
 the general blaze : and 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 malig- 
 nity. Showers of them have been discharged at 
 my 'Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides'; yet it
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 209 
 
 still sails unhurt along the stream of time, and, as 
 an attendant upon Johnson, 
 
 ' Pursues the triumph and partakes the gale/ " 
 
 Here we may observe how adroitly he introduces 
 Johnson, then puts him aside and takes his place, 
 offering a plea for his " Tour." 
 
 One night, however, when some "gentlemen 
 farmers " of musical tastes dropped in, we may 
 suspect the bottle passed round rather freely, for 
 Bozzy was roused to an unusual display of exuber- 
 ance and absurdity. 
 
 They " entertained themselves and the company 
 with a great number of tunes on the fiddle. John- 
 son desired to have ' Let ambition fire thy mind ' 
 played over again, and appeared to give a patient 
 attention to it ; though he owned to me that he 
 was very insensible to the power of music. I told 
 him that it affected me to such a degree as often to 
 agitate my nerves painfully, producing in my mind 
 alternate sensations of pathetic dejection, so that I 
 was ready to shed tears ; and of daring resolution, 
 so that I was inclined to rush into the thickest 
 part of the battle. ' Sir,' said he, ' I should never 
 hear it, if it made me such a fool.' " 
 
 This he sets down as though it were a very 
 natural comment. Years later, when he was pre- 
 paring his work, he was tempted to introduce his 
 views on music : 
 
 14
 
 «10 FIFrri MOTOR FORCE [( ii. vi. 
 
 *• Much of the (.'llt'C't of nuisic, I am satisHcd, is 
 owing to the association of ideas. That air which 
 instantly and irresistibly excites in the Swiss, when 
 in a foreign land, the mdhidic dii pais, lias, I am 
 told, no intrinsic powder of sound. And I know 
 from my owti experience that Scotch reels, though 
 brisk, make me melancholy, because I used to 
 hear them in my early years, at a time w^hen 
 Mr. Pitt called for soldiers ' from the mountains of 
 the North,' and numbers of brave Highlanders w^ere 
 going abroad, never to return. Whereas the airs 
 in ' The Beggar's Opera,' many of which are very 
 soft, never fail to render me gay, because they are 
 associated with the warm sensations and high 
 spirits of London. — This evening, w^hile some of 
 the tunes of ordinary composition were played 
 with no great skill, my frame was agitated, and 1 
 was conscious of a generous attachment to Dr. 
 Johnson, as my preceptor and friend, mixed with 
 an affectionate regret that he was an old man, 
 whom I should probably lose in a short time. I 
 thought I could defend him at the point of my 
 sword. " 
 
 Bozzy's absurd rhapsody on music seems to have 
 brought ridicule from the Sage and the "gentlemen 
 farmers." One can fancy the roar that came from 
 the listeners. 
 
 Bosw^ell, in his superior way, takes no notice. He 
 actually thought that Johnson's rude speech did
 
 CH. VI.] HUMOUR 211 
 
 not apply to him at all ; his readers knew him 
 better. As the man in the play says, he might be 
 an ass, but he was not " a silly ass." But though 
 thus rebuffed, he at once turned to the reader to 
 explain his real feeling about music, in more 
 extravagant terms even. But here the reflection 
 occurs in reference to our thesis — Which is made 
 most prominent of the two opinions of music, 
 Dr. Johnson's or Mr. Boswell's ?
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 SIXTH MOTOR FORCE — " REPORTING " 
 
 We now come to yet another of the forces that 
 helped Boswell to his supremacy over Johnson. 
 His was no mere report of sayings and contro- 
 versies, as is so commonly supposed, but a great 
 and elaborate system of composition, which only 
 began when he had made his notes. When we 
 stand admiring before Sir Joshua's noble portrait of 
 Johnson in the National Gallery, we think more 
 of the painter and of his skill than we do of 
 Johnson ; we marvel at the expression, the colour- 
 ing, the touches — bold and delicate ; and as we 
 gaze on Boswell's portrait, we seem to admire his 
 genius yet more than that of his great subject. 
 
 Who knew this better than Boswell himself? 
 He could say with truth: ^'Adsum qui feci; I 
 found all the material. From my memory or my 
 invention I put in this bit of colour, this expression, 
 1 Johnsonize ; when there were blank spaces, 1 
 put myself into his very mind, learned to look like 
 him, to speak hke him, to make him do as he 
 would have done ; I shaped, altered, and improved 
 
 212
 
 CH. VII.] "REPORTING" 213 
 
 his rough talk, gave point to it. Does not all this," 
 he might ask, " fairly give me claim to a supremacy 
 in the partnership ? It is my composition.'''' And, 
 indeed, a person who had the power to set a friend 
 talking, who could command and direct that talk, 
 take down the substance of it, amend, alter, and 
 improve it, put in passages which, as he conceived 
 it, the friend might have spoken, must take a 
 commanding position with reference to the person 
 whom he deals with in this fashion. 
 
 Too much cannot be said of Boswell's admirable 
 style. It is a model — clear and limpid, direct and 
 unaffected, without any attempt at adornment. 
 He simply says what he desires to say, and has at 
 his command a number of expressive words and 
 phrases, with plenty of humour and imagination. 
 In this he suggests the immortal Sir Walter, w^ho 
 has the same clear, limpid, and agreeable touch. 
 Some of his phrases are wonderfully expressive, 
 and could not be surpassed by the regular pro- 
 fessors. The reason of this success was his habit 
 of communing with himself, and of analyzing 
 his own and other folks' thoughts and humours. 
 From daily practice, he gained a facility and variety 
 of the utmost value. 
 
 As a letter-writer Boswell also commands our 
 admiration. In this line he had a simple, clear 
 style, always to the point and always illuminated 
 by a sort of dramatic feeling, as though he put his
 
 '2U SIXTH MOTOR FORCE [cm. mi. 
 
 best into wliat lie was wiitin<>-. lie had u different 
 style aeeordini; to liie person he addressed. Thus, 
 to .Johnson he wrote with a sort of respectful 
 restraint, but at the same time with free communi- 
 eation of his thoughts and fechnos ; the best illus- 
 tration being his fully detailed account of his visits, 
 in which he, with infinite pains, collected all the 
 topics that w^ould be interesting to his friend. 
 Here he showed his devotion and good-nature. 
 But his letters to his old friend Temple showed 
 him at his best. Here he unbosomed himself, and 
 in the most natural fashion gave him the very- 
 outpourings of his honest heart, everything that he 
 felt, all his trespasses and failings, the most intimate 
 confidences; w4iile all is permeated with an intense 
 affection and regard. It must really have been 
 impossible not to love such a being. These letters 
 are certainly strange " human documents " ; not the 
 least strange thing about them being their almost 
 miraculous preservation. But w^e must always 
 lament that the most interesting of the series — 
 those of the years associated with Johnson's last 
 illness and death — should be missing. They would 
 certainly have thrown light on Boswell's strange 
 and inexplicable behaviour at that crisis. He 
 must certainly have told his friend what was the 
 real grievance against the dying Johnson. 
 
 The secret of this happy mode of expression w^as 
 his complete absence of affectation. He wished to
 
 CH. vii.] "REPORTING" 215 
 
 tell his story, and he went straight to his purpose, 
 without thinking of how he should express himself. 
 He enjoyed himself, too, as he wrote, and revelled 
 in his clever sketches of men and things. He was 
 chary of words, and had the maxim Ne quid nimis 
 before him. The contrast with the performances of 
 our day in this line is extraordinary. The average 
 memoir seems a manufactured, artificial thing, in 
 which the writer has no interest ; the style is too 
 often founded on that of the daily newspaper — 
 a pecuhar style, well suited to ephemeral things, 
 but not to a book. Apart from Boswell's style, 
 the impression left on the reader is that he is in 
 the presence of a well-read, cultured gentleman. 
 Nothing is more surprising than his familiarity with 
 the out-of-the-way and little-known books, and 
 with topics known to scholars only — though, as I 
 have suggested, his lore may have been extended 
 by after-reading and inquiry — in history and 
 poetry especially — in three languages, English, 
 French, and Italian. " All print was open to him," 
 as Mr. Wegg remarked. 
 
 Unbounded as has been the admiration be- 
 stowed upon Boswell's all but fascinating history, 
 on its pictures of manners and delineations of 
 character, its sprightliness and animation, hardly 
 sufficient notice has been given to that miracle of 
 miracles, his method of securing, after delivery, the 
 vast series of conversations which are the attraction
 
 51() ^IXTII MO'POU FORCE [cu. \u. 
 
 of tlic book. We arc apt to think of him as 
 simply a dihgcnt note-taker, ever on the watch, 
 capturing in some mysterious way the letter or 
 substance of what he was listening to ; or else as 
 giilcd with a wonderful, abnormal memory. We 
 see him, note-book in hand, securing somehow — for 
 he did not know shorthand — the bulk of the talk. 
 But, then, do we not know that the common 
 reporter must concentrate himself on his single 
 duty without interruption or disturbance ? He 
 cannot stop for even a moment, or he will drop 
 behind. And here comes the marvel — the miracle, 
 as I have called it — Boswell ivas hhnself talker and 
 disputant as well as reporter. He took an animated 
 share in the discussion, he had to follow the thread 
 of the argument, and to do this must listen to his 
 adversaries. But if he had to write, how could he 
 do this ? It was really a monumental feat. He 
 talked to his neighbours, made himself agreeable, 
 ate and drank — which he did plentifully — yet the 
 result was a natural, spirited report, infinitely more 
 full than the very complete and perfect reports to 
 which we are accustomed. How w^as this con- 
 trived ? We shall find that the answer in the first 
 place must be, that it was not done. 
 
 To start with, he was gifted with a good memory, 
 which he had trained and improved by constant 
 practice. He could marshal topics and fix them in 
 his mind. Anyone familiar with the diplomatic
 
 CH. VII.] "REPORTING" 217 
 
 service has often read with amazement the report 
 which an Envoy has sent home of his inter\dews 
 with a foreign Minister — ten, perhaps half a dozen, 
 pages long. He will give the whole conversation 
 in dialogue, with all the delicate points and con- 
 troversial distinctions, each topic placed in its proper 
 order. It seems an astonishing feat enough. No 
 doubt he took notes ; but the finished result must 
 be due to careful practice. And this, of course, was 
 the basis of Bos well's system. Apart from this, how- 
 ever, he has himself furnished us with many details. 
 It is plain that, at a dinner-party, the spectacle 
 of one of the guests with an open note-book, busily 
 engaged in jotting down what the guests were say- 
 ing, would be found intolerable and would spoil 
 the party. There would be serious restraint, and 
 some certainly might object to having their words 
 taken down. It is clear, therefore, that the note- 
 taking was not observable. In process of time, 
 however, when the intimacy between the pair was 
 notorious, it became well understood that with the 
 Doctor was always to be asked his " follower " 
 or aide-de-camp. This is certain from the innumer- 
 able entries : "I dined with him this day at 
 a Bishop's," etc. And thus Mr. Boswell became 
 privileged. Still, it is clear that he had contrived 
 some disguised way of taking down what he heard. 
 Speaking of his methods to Dr. Johnson, he 
 explained that he knew nothing of shorthand, but
 
 '218 SIXTH MOTOK l-OUCE [( ii. mi. 
 
 could set down " hall-words, ' Icjiviiio- out some 
 altot^ethcr, ".vo as to hrcp the stthstuncc (Uiil Imi- 
 ^uiiiir of tuui discourse I heard so much in view that 
 I could gi\'e it very completely soon after taking it 
 down." This is a very complete and accurate 
 account of Bozzy's system, and it is quite intelli- 
 gible. The catchwords suggested not only other 
 words, but sentences ; for the word he selected was 
 representative, as in the case of Johnson's vivid 
 sayings. With long practice one could learn this 
 " art of suggestion " and develop it. A test which 
 Johnson once put to him curiously reveals to us 
 the truth of what I have said as to this amplifying 
 from his own stores the right utterances. Johnson 
 dictated to him some of Robertson's History, which 
 the other failed to reproduce — he says, because the 
 effect depended on "the studied arrangement of 
 words." But it was really owdng to the fact that, 
 after he had taken down the talk, he was accus- 
 tomed to transcribe it into his "Johnsonese," and 
 enrich it, on the principle of supplying what John- 
 son would have said or was likely to have said. 
 Boswell had so much imagination that he could 
 restore for himself the w^iole scene, or episodes of 
 the scene, w4th their general effect, secured by the 
 catchw'ords. In short, it was a matter of training 
 and discipline. 
 
 Bozzy must have had in view the system which 
 Johnson himself followed when composing the
 
 CH. VII.] " REPORTING '' 219 
 
 debates in Parliament which he expanded in his 
 own special Johnsonese from a few descriptive 
 sketches furnished by a listener. No doubt by 
 practice he had attained to some secret method 
 of taking his notes behind the shelter of someone, 
 by " screwing himself round " in some fashion. 
 Miss Burney has left a vivacious sketch of him 
 when thus engaged, where she says he rather 
 ostentatiously pursued his work, drawing his chair 
 closer and yet closer to the Sage until he was 
 ordered away. No doubt, when he had " primed " 
 himself sufficiently with the glass, he cast off all 
 pretence and disguise. But even the carrying on 
 of this matter so successfully shows an extra- 
 ordinary ability and boldness. For he carried it 
 through for over twenty years, without check or 
 hindrance, apparently with the sanction and appro- 
 bation of all. 
 
 How, too, did the Club tolerate this system — a 
 number of gentlemen in private allowing a member 
 to take down all they said, of the most private 
 kind ? Had he given his word that he would not 
 divulge ? And how strange if the members had 
 given him leave and licence ! These are mysteries. 
 
 With his "half" or "catch" words and his 
 powerful memory, Boswell brought home from the 
 party material for a full report. And here he 
 found all his resources. He explains to us one of 
 the secrets. From talking to his great friend
 
 2JJ0 SIXTH MOTOR FORCE [en. vii. 
 
 morniiiii'. noon, ancl nii^lit, from listenintr to his 
 pc'iitxls on every siibjeet, he had thrown, jis it were, 
 into his mind, and could project himself into all his 
 fa\ ourite forms of speech. He could in a minute 
 translate a sentence into a language that he called 
 Johnsonese — that is, could think after the pattern of 
 Johnson, thinking and saying some sentence almost 
 as Johnson would have said it. He did that by 
 instinct as it were, or habit, and so as to furnish a 
 whole dialogue under his clever process. Thus, when 
 they talked of Berkeley's theories, of matters which 
 Johnson "refuted thus" by striking his stick on 
 the groimd, Boswell would readily throw it into 
 dramatic form by supplying remarks of his own 
 and imaginary answers based on the spirit of the 
 Sage's sayings. But, as I said, to imagine that these 
 hundreds of talks, questions, replies, etc., were all 
 given in their due order and with their ipsissima 
 verba is incredible, and would be a feat the like of 
 which the world has never seen. 
 
 A great dramatist in this way finds himself 
 carrying on a spirited, witty dialogue, not one 
 word of which was known to him ten minutes 
 before ! And so Boswell, knowing his Johnson by 
 heart, could deal with him after the fashion of one 
 of those quaint ventriloquists at the music-halls 
 who keep up a conversation with a little toy figure 
 seated on their knees. 
 
 But let us see Boswell at his work, and follow
 
 CH. VII.] "REPORTING" 221 
 
 him home, when, full of wine and excitement, he 
 runs over his notes, and calls up, as it then was not 
 difficult to do, the dramatic positions, incidents, 
 " good things," of the evening. In the morning he 
 goes more coolly and deliberately to work ; he 
 remembers some pointed sayings of the leader 
 which he had fixed in his memory, amusing situa- 
 tions and encounters, even the very words. 
 
 This marvellous Johnsonese " lingo " he could 
 at any moment call up and listen to. Johnson 
 had been " laying about him "; he had uttered some 
 of his tremendous retorts, which Bozzy had retained 
 and " booked " with a catchword or two. He had 
 heard the dialogue ; he recalled the situation, and 
 found it easy to throw the whole into conversational 
 shape. 
 
 But, then, how easy, how irresistible, was the 
 next stage ! With this inspiration, and the pressure 
 of the scene still vivid, he might have found himself 
 actually in the act of composition, like a drama- 
 tist. Here was a theme suggested by one of his 
 notes — how natural that he should develop good 
 Johnsonian sayings, or that sayings in the John- 
 sonian manner should occur to him ; that he 
 should heighten here, put in some pleasant strokes 
 that occurred to him there I He would think : 
 " What a pity I did not say that !" {l esprit de 
 Vescalier) ; " but I can put it in now." I am certain 
 that something of the kind occurred, and was
 
 ^>iJ2 SIXTH MO'l'OIl roUCE [ch. vij. 
 
 ;iKvavs (n-curriiiL;'. and tlial llic irresistible desire 
 to .iiiRMul and txjiatul and put in liis own ideas in 
 this way was uncontrollable. It was oidy human 
 nature, witli sucli a eanvas before him and no one 
 to check him. 
 
 Rut it will be said that, on this theory, Bozzy 
 must luive been as great and powerfid a talker as 
 his master. No, for he would seem to have first set 
 down his text and then Johnsoiiized his additions. 
 With his own utterances he had an open field ; he 
 could range where he liked. A man of Boswell's 
 character, full of devices, seeking every opening to 
 put himself forward, would not for a scruple pass by 
 such an opportunity. He was likely to write and 
 rewrite, not only what he said, but what he had 
 never said. If he were in an argument, he would 
 furnish himself afresh with powerful topics, be ready 
 with quotations revised a loisir, quoting proper 
 passages of poetry which had occurred to him " on 
 the staircase." He could show himself as learned, 
 critical, equipped at all points. Who could resist 
 such a temptation ? And so it is generally : if a 
 proof be sent to a public man of his speech or essay, 
 he will not scruple to half rewrite or alter it, put- 
 ting it forward as though it w^ere what he had 
 really said. In short, this dilemma must be faced : 
 it is literally impossible for Boswell to have pre- 
 sented anything like a record of what was said, 
 because it is impossible for him to have recollected
 
 CH. VII.] " REPORTING " 223 
 
 or " taken " it all. Yet it is there all the same, and 
 therefore must have been supplied from Bozzy's 
 own brain — duly Johnsonized. 
 
 So this leads to a question of extraordinary 
 interest which may by-and-by have an immense 
 influence on Boswell's reputation. I do not 
 venture it save in a very speculative way, but it 
 will have to be considered. The point is this : Had 
 Boswell, after all, an mportant share in devising the 
 sayings, apophthegms, retorts, etc., which have been 
 always attributed to Johnson ? It seems a rather 
 daring thing even to suggest such a thing, but 
 it does look very much as though Bozzy had 
 " co-operated " in writing many of the conversa- 
 tions. 
 
 What a wonderful feat, if this clever man had 
 paid this tribute to his own cleverness ! But this 
 proceeding he could get no credit for, for he dared 
 not impart his secret to anyone, or his book would 
 lose all its credit. And yet he knew it was a true 
 version of what had occurred ; and if he manipu- 
 lated it, he was in the secret of Johnson's feelings 
 and intentions. Boswell intended for himself the 
 general office of controller and director of the talk, 
 and he also intended to impress this opinion on the 
 public. Just as there used to be the " managed " 
 horse in the old days, so was there to be a 
 " managed " Johnson, under his friend's direction. 
 This is proved by Bozzy's allowing nothing to pass
 
 i224 SIXTH MOTOR l-OHCK [ni. mi. 
 
 witliout liis acccptaiu'c or rejection ; without his 
 approval or his protest ; without liis iuau«(uration 
 or termination ; without his correction or endorse- 
 ment. Hoswell »;avc his own opinions ])ol(lly, his 
 dishkcs and likings ; he set the wrong right, and 
 showed the disputants where they had gone astray. 
 All his own feelings, prejudices, hkings, dislikings, 
 are set forth. This surely, then, becomes an ahnost 
 personal narrative. Amid all this noting and 
 reporting — the animated talk, the hurried, noisy 
 persons talking together, the loud laughter, Boswell 
 himself perhaps is noisiest. He picks up snatches 
 of Johnson's wit — how he set down this one and 
 that ; how he retorted and produced a roar of 
 applause. These things and the encircling scene 
 he had no need to record ; he had only to trust his 
 memory. It was only in the case of a discussion 
 that he had to write a catchword or two. He may 
 have also noted the order of the topics. When he 
 reached home he began to write at length and put 
 things in order, and then to Johnsonize — that is, 
 he let his imagination loose. He called up the 
 scene of the particular episode, he heard again 
 the contending voices, he remembered — though 
 he may have forgotten the words — the effect of the 
 words, the behaviour of the parties, as in the case 
 of Johnson's dispute with Bishop Percy. Suppose 
 that we had read out to us, say on a first acquaint- 
 ance, some highly dramatic scene, to which we had
 
 CH. VII.] " REPORTING " 225 
 
 listened with interest and enjoyment. Next day, 
 when called upon to write down or describe what 
 we can recollect, if at all shrewd, we shall find 
 ourselves working very much as Boswell did. We 
 shall recall the scene vividly, and many of the 
 words ; e.g.^ we could not forget that the quarrel 
 arose from Percy taxing the Doctor with his imper- 
 fect sight. Also " I travelled after him." " And 
 / travelled also." And then we should recall 
 Johnson's taunt that Percy resented reflection on 
 the Northumberland family, and remember the 
 words "narrow-mindedness." 
 
 Next comes Bozzy's Johnsonizing process, which 
 raises some intricate questions, the chief of which 
 is. How far was it carried ? Where did it stop ? 
 What did it literally mean ? I think we can reach 
 an answer, which is, indeed, the only answer. He 
 tells us that he had learned the art of putting 
 phrases into a sort of " adumbration " of Johnson's 
 talk — that is, given a thought or a sentence, he could 
 say it almost exactly as Johnson would have said it. 
 But he went beyond this. He could enter, as it 
 were, into Johnson's mind, and make up successive 
 sentences which should represent the current of the 
 Doctor's thoughts ; knowing as it were prophetic- 
 ally how the ideas would succeed each other, how 
 the Sage to a certainty would treat the topic. He 
 had all the little " tricks " at his fingers' ends, could 
 put in the " Why, no, sir's," " Nay, sir's," etc., where 
 
 15
 
 22G SIXTH MOTOR rOHCE [( ii. vn. 
 
 thcv wore wanted. From his incessant practice it 
 liad become quite an easy fejit. He seemed to liear 
 Johnson speak, and let his pen race on. 
 
 A person well accustomed to this intimate 
 journalism acquires an amazin^r fluency, and a quite 
 Wvid manner of putting the scene before the reader. 
 T myself, during my long life, have been a perpetual, 
 diligent note-taker of what the French call choses 
 vues, and have learned to call them up in very 
 realistic way and in very few phrases ; setting dow^n 
 a talk, I find myself assuming the tone, manner, 
 mind, which seem to be dictating to me. This is 
 a mere matter of practice and habit, not of special 
 skill, so the reader may take it from me — ex- 
 perto crede. On the same evidence he may be 
 assured that there will come a w^onderful fertility 
 of invention. I find myself making ready and 
 appropriate replies — to which I seem to have 
 listened. 
 
 And how many of us in our own homes have had 
 experiences of this kind ! We see two sprightly 
 animated daughters returning home after dining at 
 a large party, and eager to amuse their mother 
 with a full account. They will sit up to " all 
 hours " telling her about it. Natural good-will 
 and a sense of enjoyment prompt their wdts ; they 
 describe the scenes, ridiculous and otherwise, report 
 absurd speeches, with the very tones and manner 
 of the speaker, and all they said — often not only
 
 CH. VII.] « REPORTING " 227 
 
 the substance, but the Hteral words : they call up 
 the whole scene with immense spirit. But, as I 
 can testify, in their gaiete de cceiir they will fill out 
 and heighten — shall I say exaggerate ? — or invent 
 drolleries which we listeners recognize as true, or 
 almost true, because they fit the individual char- 
 acters. 
 
 Once again, how much of the innumerable 
 talks with Johnson and others is of Bozzys own 
 composition and devising? Could his report be 
 a faithful or literal one ? Impossible. We can 
 fancy that he memorized and set down the topics 
 in the proper order — the beginning of the subject, 
 Johnson's odd expressions. He has told us that 
 from practice he could write a sort of " Johnsonese " 
 language. Now, this was a dangerous gift, because 
 it must have tempted him every moment to clothe 
 his own ideas and fill up sentences with what 
 would be telling and dramatic, so as to produce an 
 effect. When Johnson used a simile, he would 
 strengthen it by substituting something more 
 striking, as it seemed to him, while retaining the 
 form. And thus the conclusion becomes irresistible, 
 that the reporter had a really important share in all 
 these mighty dialogues. It must also be remem- 
 bered that Boswell was not a very scrupulous 
 person. He almost preferred " roundabout " 
 methods to a straightforward course. 
 
 But this theory of a personal share in the author-
 
 'i-iS SIXTH MOTOR FORCE ["( ii. mi. 
 
 ship o\' tlic convcrsatit)!! is tiilly siij)j)orlcd by 
 Hoswclls own noU's, wliich in a small way show 
 his process. 'I'hiis, when he ibiind sonic particuhir 
 point a little weak, he wonld alter the ibrni ol' 
 illustration to one invented by himself, but retaining 
 the shape, as being more dramatic. 
 
 While offering these suggestions, I must not be 
 taken as seriously contending that Boswell wrote 
 all these profound and clever disquisitions. That 
 w^ould really make him as great a genius as Johnson 
 himself. But my theory is the only solution of the 
 many difficulties. His Johnsonese tongue actively 
 kindled his memory, and supplied him from his 
 storehouse of Johnsonian w^ords and phrases — even 
 his varied casts of thought. Again, he knew 
 Johnson's opinions on most things. 
 
 If he used this treatment in trifling matters, how 
 likely that he would adopt the same system wath 
 the larger canvas of the conversations ! At the 
 same time, I have no doubt that he recalled per- 
 fectly — literatim et verbatim — each one of John- 
 son's pointed sayings, repeating them and fixing 
 them in his memory. Round them he arranged the 
 conversations with such fragments as he recalled, 
 embellishing them in his own way. If we think 
 of it, we shall see that the dramatic incidents — say 
 Johnson's rude attacks on Goldsmith, Percy, or 
 Reynolds — needed no effort to recall. Had any 
 of us been present, we could have described the
 
 CH. VII.] "REPORTING" 229 
 
 scene accurately and readily, because the words 
 were striking and dramatic enough to fix them- 
 selves in the memory. 
 
 Here is another interesting question. Boswell 
 must have come to the Johnsonian talks prepared 
 with subjects, questions, interesting matter of all 
 kinds, for he never seemed to flag. To do this he 
 must have been wonderfully clever. Of a foolish 
 though flashy person one soon tires. Johnson would 
 have been bored to death with mere private duets. 
 Did he ever say : " Do stop your chattering, for 
 Heaven's sake ! " (Still, we could hardly expect 
 Bozzy to tell us if he did. ) 
 
 Johnson was of so downright and robust a type 
 that it is difficult to conceive of him submitting to 
 long intercourse with one greatly inferior to himself. 
 He must at last have found this being probed and 
 questioned at all seasons an intolerable burden, and 
 must often have wished to dissolve the connection 
 altogether. Well, as it seems to me, he often did 
 so. For thus may be accounted for those rude 
 and gross insults which he levelled at Bozzy before 
 company — those " degrading images " of which the 
 latter complains. This " before company " was the 
 element most likely to inflame Bozzy. Then, too, 
 the perpetual talk and worrying ! He no doubt, 
 to a certain extent, primed himself carefully with 
 suitable topics, but he seems to suggest that every 
 discussion arose naturally out of the situation.
 
 £30 SIXTH MOroU I'ORCE (cii. vii. 
 
 Aiu! wi' may Ikivc a suspicion thai, wiLli his fluent 
 ^'\i\ of talk. lk)swcll nuist ol'tcu have given free 
 play to his imagination, and developed topics in his 
 own hvcly and dramatic fashion. But he vv^as not 
 to be insulted, and yet could not accept all without 
 complaint. Tiien probably Johnson became sorry, 
 and the alliance was renewed. It must be considered 
 also that the Doctor must have been rather vain of 
 having a creature so completely devoted to him — 
 his serf as it were, whom he could take about and 
 exhibit, and who brought him news and gossip and 
 ran his errands. He had grown accustomed to 
 him, and w^ould miss his service. And then the 
 talk, the wonder, which the dissolution of the 
 partnership would excite ! 
 
 If this view be disputed, we have only to turn to 
 Boswell's own notes, w^here we find his various 
 stories and " good things " shaped and altered for 
 better effect. There is one alteration which is most 
 significant. Johnson, to illustrate the futility of 
 Sheridan's teaching elocution, said it was like 
 lighting a candle. It seemed that this was not 
 very pointed, or, at least, not pointed enough. 
 How much more forcible to make it Dover and 
 Calais, the ocean being between ! This fashion of 
 improving, altering, and strengthening, might tempt 
 him yet further, and lead him to expand the 
 dialogue with remarks of his own, and thus pro- 
 ceed to all lengths of improvisation.
 
 CH. VII.] "REPORTING" 231 
 
 Boswell, not having had the advantage of meet- 
 ing Johnson one year, contrived to buttonhole the 
 good-natured Langton, who handed over to him a 
 collection of " Dicta and Sayings," chiefly critical, 
 and conceived in a rather ponderous vein. Boswell 
 apologizes for Langton, saying that he was not in 
 the habit of writing down things ; but he (Boswell) 
 adroitly seized on the occasion, as it were, to "pump," 
 leading the talk to " stories " of the stage much 
 more in his way. This he did on many occasions, 
 taking down the pith and marrow in his note-book. 
 Then he adds this significant passage : " The 
 authenticity of every article is unquestionable " — 
 i.e., because the note was taken at the time of utter- 
 ance. " For the expression " — we should mark this, 
 as it belongs to his system — " / am partly answer- 
 able ; " that is, he translated them into his favourite 
 Johnsonese, and skilfully embellished them. 
 
 There is one rather significant incident which 
 seems to throw a little light on the matter. He 
 had given an elaborate report of a long discussion, 
 in which a Quaker lady, Mrs. Knowles, took part. 
 The Quaker lady some three years later published 
 a printed account of the talk, which is a plain 
 matter-of-fact statement and arrangement, without 
 any of Bozzy's lively flourishings. The latter was 
 indignant and scornful at this, and declared that he 
 had not the least recollection of her version, and 
 that there was not a trace of it in his record. He
 
 232 SIXTH MOTOR FORCE [cii. mi. 
 
 accordingly refused to liavc anything to do with it. 
 It" Hoswcll had adopted liis nielliod oi" "Johnson- 
 izing," and niakin*;- Ids liero talk as lie was accus- 
 tomed to talk, the two accounts must have been 
 quite discordant. Now, it is rather arbitrary to 
 assume that here Bozzy had the monopoly of 
 accuracy. May not the lady's version have been 
 the right one ? Boswell may not have been 
 attending at the time, and there may have been 
 other interruptions. 
 
 Boswell often innocently laments how much he 
 had lost by neglecting to report an interesting 
 evening — '* for some reason or other," he says. In 
 the morning, too, he could not recover the details. 
 This was, of course, due to an obvious reason. 
 
 On one occasion, when he was dining with Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, there was a very large company 
 and a great deal of conversation. Here were ele- 
 ments for a grand garnering-up of reported talk. But 
 Bozzy naively tells us that, " owing to some circum- 
 stances which I cannot now recollect, I have no 
 report of any part of it." How naive is this con- 
 fession ! The reason doubtless was that the guest 
 found the wine so good and his tongue so free that 
 he could not attend to other matters. 
 
 Sometimes he took a fit of neglecting his duties 
 altogether for weeks, when much was lost. Bos- 
 well's extraordinary theory was that anything that 
 he took down in his note-book was sacrosanct, as it
 
 CH. VII.] "REPORTING" 233 
 
 were, and not to be altered or tampered with. The 
 general rule has always been that letters or talks 
 are strictly private things, and not to be put in 
 print unless carefully revised and purged of all 
 personalities. The writers or talkers are entitled to 
 protection, and hold a sort of copyright. Subject 
 to this treatment, and then only, they may become 
 public papers. What secured Boswell his astonish- 
 ing impunity was the bold and wholesale scale on 
 which his revelations were made ; where everybody 
 without exception was treated in the same fashion, 
 no one was inclined to come forward. They were 
 bewildered. Even when the revelations are colour- 
 less and harmless, no one likes to have his careless, 
 casual remarks put in print. They have a sort of 
 banal or childish air, because they are too trivial to 
 be reported. 
 
 But on the whole Bozzy's exploit is simply 
 unique for its defiance of all restraint and decency, 
 and also for its complete success. 
 
 It was, of course, well known that Bozzy was 
 " taking down " private conversations ; but though 
 he was never given credit for discretion, it was 
 expected that fear of consequences would make 
 him careful. Nothing of the kind. Everything 
 was blurted out — offensive remarks about living 
 persons ; stories, true and untrue, about friends, 
 with remarks of theirs upon other people ; scandals. 
 And yet he escaped without duels, or horse-
 
 «84 SIXTH MOTOR FORCE [cn. vii. 
 
 whippiiiu^s, ov any very serious quarrel. This is 
 one of the miracles associated with the book. 
 Even when, stun«T^ by W^olcot's ridicule, he called 
 him a profane jester, nothing inconvenient 
 followed. 
 
 Indeed, the wonder is how, witli the interrup- 
 tions, the deep drinking, the slow recovery the 
 next day, he managed to make progress at all. 
 He complains bitterly of the unceasing labour, the 
 confused mass of written material he had to search 
 through to get into order, the trouble in looking 
 up dates, etc. It is really wonderful, wdth such 
 difficulties, w^hat an orderly, business-like structure 
 he reared. He seemed to the manner born, a 
 practised editor. Not but that there w^ere strange 
 entanglements, bits of confusion here and there, 
 index at the beginning instead of at the end, etc. 
 
 Boswell was, in fact, saturated with Johnson. 
 He had been listening to him for twenty years 
 " off and on," and his retentive mind had become, 
 as he said himself, " impregnated wdth the John- 
 son ether " — happy phrase ! — a sort of nmseum 
 of Johnsonian " odds and ends," sayings and 
 thoughts on all subjects, a storehouse from which 
 he could help himself on occasion. We can well 
 fancy him, when supplied with a suitable text, 
 improvising a dramatic dialogue, extending and 
 carrying on the discussion wuth his extraordinary 
 faculty, and finding amusement in talking with
 
 CH. vii.] " REPORTING " 235 
 
 himself a la Johnson. But here comes a fresh 
 difficulty. To do this in the masterly fashion with 
 which it has been carried out, must not Boswell 
 have been a second Johnson, with all his ability 
 and power ? And this Bozzy was certainly not. 
 Yet, what other resource is there, in the face of the 
 insolvable puzzle of how these admirable dialogues 
 could have been taken down, unless by some 
 miraculous agency ; for, as we have seen, Bozzy only 
 took a stray note or catchword, whereas the printed 
 record has the finish and completeness of a pro- 
 fessional's work. So, of the two difficulties, it seems 
 the more easy to accept as a solution that of actual 
 composition — in part at least. 
 
 I have now given a lengthy disquisition on this 
 thorny question, which I think has been looked at 
 from every point of view, and on the whole fairly 
 dealt with. It is clear, at least, that the difficulties 
 have hitherto been too lightly dealt with — that 
 Boswell's simple statement that he could write in 
 Johnson's manner was accepted as a complete ex- 
 planation — amounting to this, that he merely 
 " touched up " his slender reflections and recol- 
 lections with Johnson's colouring.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SEVENTH MOTOR FORCE FINAL QUARREL 
 
 TiTERF are many things in this investigation 
 which I fear must shock all faithful Johnsonians 
 and Boswellians. And there is one painful and 
 tragic matter which I am going, with all hesitation, 
 to put forward, but which could only occur to 
 one who had gone searchingly into all the long 
 relations of the pair — and that is, " Did Boswell 
 feel to the last that love and devotion for his 
 great friend which he so often and so ostentatiously 
 professed to feel ? The degradations to which he 
 was subjected, the insolence, the contempt, the 
 almost menial services which he was compelled to 
 accept, the insults to which he was publicly exposed 
 — is it likely that a sensitive, mercurial spirit such 
 as was his would patiently endure this treatment 
 witliout finding all reverence, veneration, and regard 
 gradually waning, and finally becoming extinct ! 
 It will be said that the Life to the very end shows 
 an uninterrupted profession of affection and devo- 
 tion ; but these professions were contemporaneous, 
 written in the heyday of their intimacy, and entered 
 
 236
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 237 
 
 at the time they occurred. They did not represent 
 his final judgment. No average man could put up 
 with such a system of treatment without a growing 
 rage and resentment. And are we to expect that 
 Bozzy, who rarely forgot an affront, who " gave 
 as good as he got," and whose book shows his 
 resentment against all who had offended him, 
 would have a gentle indulgence for his ungracious 
 patron ? He was a sensitive creature, and must 
 have felt acutely the public degradations to which 
 Johnson seemed to delight in subjecting him. 
 
 It should be remembered that on several occasions 
 Johnson's insulting treatment almost passed Bozzy 's 
 endurance. On one occasion he did not go near 
 him for several days. And there must have been 
 many a time when he may have asked whether 
 the endurance was worth the suffering that it 
 brought him. There are some things which 
 suggest, or seem to hint, that Johnson grew 
 somewhat tired of his friend. After the visit to 
 the Hebrides, Johnson made a trip to Wales ; but 
 there was no Boswell ! He went also to France. 
 Then came the proposal to go to Italy. In none 
 of these expeditions was Bozzy asked to join. He 
 was not even told of the French expedition. But 
 why did he not offer to go with the Doctor to Italy, 
 to take care of him and look after him ? Is it not 
 likely that, if the Doctor was a tremendous com- 
 panion, the follower was a " boring " one ? Inhere
 
 5:W SEVENTH AUVrOU FORCE [cii. vm. 
 
 must \vA\c l)ccn many a day when llie pair were 
 heartily tired of each other. 
 
 Hut too nuR'li liad been invested — in the case of 
 Bozzy. at least — for him to break up the friend- 
 ship ; and the Sage was nearing his end. A little 
 more patience, and he would have his reward. 
 Johnson may at times have felt that he lost dignity 
 and respect by suffering the ever ndhesive attend- 
 ance of this grotesque personage ; but he had 
 grown necessary to him, as a sort of souffre-douleu7\ 
 So he let it go on. 
 
 There is yet another incident which seems highly 
 significant of Bozzy 's changed feelings towards 
 Johnson. When they were at Auchinleck, Bozzy 
 told him, in a moment of cpanchement de coeur, that 
 if he survived him he would set up a column in the 
 grounds commemorative of him. After the Sage's 
 death we might have expected to hear of this 
 memorial. But not so. No column was ever 
 erected to the man who would not leave him even 
 an old book. It is also a little significant that, 
 after Johnson had allotted his friend a room in his 
 house, we find Bozzy a short time later required to 
 give it up. 
 
 One often wonders what people of that society 
 must have said or thought when they saw Boswell, 
 a Scotch laird of condition, " set down " with 
 coarse brutality, as we must call it, by the great 
 man. To us it is inconceivable. Who could
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 239 
 
 imagine, when it was debated how a friend ought 
 to be got out of London, someone suggesting, " we 
 must put you beside him, and then he will fly " ? Or 
 when steam is praised as a curative agent, what 
 would be thought of another saying, " Well, get 
 the steam directed to your head, for there is the 
 weak place"? this at a dinner or before a large 
 company. Or the giving as an excuse for excessive 
 drinking, " if he sat next to you ",? There would be 
 silence ; everyone would be aghast at such rude- 
 ness ; it would be difficult to resume the talk. We 
 may ask, did Bozzy deepen the strokes to produce 
 an effect ? For Johnson boasted that he was " a 
 society man," one of breeding and manners, and he 
 could hardly think that he was privileged to be 
 thus boorish. It may be that he had insinuated 
 — which he well knew how to do — these rude 
 speeches under a satirical form. 
 
 The worst, most degrading of all the trials 
 Boswell had to submit to from his august friend 
 was as discreditable to the latter as to his victim. 
 It seems all but incredible when we think that 
 Johnson was a sage, a professional moralist and 
 teacher, and professedly a good religious man. The 
 scene was at Dunvegan, where Johnson was 
 " laying down the law " on the comparative merits 
 of linen and wool as wearing apparel. The latter, 
 he said, was dirty material, being an animal sub- 
 stance. Everyone listened with rapt attention. " I
 
 ',140 SKVENTH MOTOU FORCK [cii. vni. 
 
 liavc otU'ii tliounlil," he added, "that, il' 1 kept a 
 scraii^ho, the ladies shoultl all wear linen gowns. I 
 would have no silk," etc. It appears that no one 
 of the e()ni})any, save one, saw the grotesqueness of 
 tills hypothesis. Poor Boswell, always appreciating 
 a humorous solution, was struck so forcibly with 
 the ludicrous contrast that he " could not but laugh 
 innnoderately. Johnson was too proud to submit 
 even for a moment to be the object of ridicule, 
 and instantly retaliated with such keen, sarcastic 
 wit, and such a va?'iefy of degi'ading images, of 
 every one of tv/iic// I w^as the object, that, though 
 I can bear such attacks as well as " (far better 
 than) " most men, I yet found myself so much 
 the sport of the company that I would gladly 
 expunge from my mind every trace of this severe 
 retort." 
 
 How painful it is to read this ! How unbecoming 
 and how inhuman ! For Johnson not a word can 
 be said ; it was a pitiable exhibition of vanity and 
 human weakness. He could not for the time have 
 had the true religious spirit. I once heard an 
 eloquent preacher expatiating on religious life and 
 discipline, w^hen a woman w^as taken with sudden 
 faint ness. Everyone looked round. Our preacher 
 grew angry and sarcastic. " JVhat is it all about ?" 
 Then, scornfully : " It is o?ily a poor girl who is a 
 little overcome : there is nothing to be excited 
 about." All this in the bitterest tone. They had
 
 CH. vm.] FINAL QUARREL 241 ' 
 
 dared to withdraw their attention from him ! I 
 thought of the Doctor on this occasion. 
 
 But Boswell, poor Boswell ! what sort of self- 
 respect could he have had, to tamely endure such 
 treatment ? He ought to have resigned at once, 
 until a suitable public apology was made to 
 him. But no, he did not even see his humilia- 
 tion. 
 
 I have always thought there is something sad, 
 and even tragic, in the wreck of the friendship of 
 these two eminent men. We have been following 
 them all through their talks and adventures, have 
 grown to love and admire them, to sympathize with 
 their mutual regard, as between master and scholar, 
 guardian and ward. It seemed built on a rock, for 
 how many a storm had it borne unshaken ! Of a 
 sudden came one slight gust, and all lay in ruins ! 
 We can detect a tone of mortification and con- 
 straint in Bozzy's words as he strives to wind up 
 his chronicle with an affected cheerfulness and 
 heartiness. 
 
 For the studious, diligent English reader, who 
 looks on all the notable figures he meets with in 
 his reading as living friends and companions, there 
 is no more cherished asset than the long intimacy 
 between Dr. Johnson and his humble, faitliful 
 henchman and follower, James Boswell. In the 
 popular view, their affectionate union was as apper- 
 
 36
 
 'n?2 SKVENTH MOTOR TOUCK [< ii. mm. 
 
 c'ialcd l)y each as it was intcrcstin<^ ; it liad stood 
 the test for souk' twenty years of imieli Ibolisliness 
 ami absurdity on one side, and of gross insult and 
 unjienerous ridicule on the other. We can admire 
 the kindly tolenince of Johnson for one so unfitted 
 to be his companion, and the wonderfid patience 
 and sweetness of temper w^hieh made Hoswell put 
 up with the coarse language which liis patron — in 
 fits of ill-humour — w- ould shower upon him ; 
 though the stream w^as only ruffled fon a moment, 
 and was soon placid again. All editors seem to 
 agree on the point, and the pleasing legend is 
 firmly established. 
 
 A close, searching study of the Life rev^eals to us, 
 among other curious things, that the follower was not 
 always so patient as he seemed, and that he was 
 biding his time. That time w^as to arrive w^hen his 
 book appeared. I have tried to prove that Bozzy's 
 object was to furnish a sort of autobiography of his 
 own, in which his character, with its many-sidedness, 
 his accomplishments, general learning, and critical 
 power, were to be set forth to the fullest advantage. 
 But another course of careful inquiry is this : that in 
 the book are two distinct currents — one the report 
 of all the conversations, taken about the time of 
 their utterance, which represent Boswell's actual 
 feeling at the moment ; the other when the whole 
 manuscript was before him, and he was busy 
 putting it into formal shape. The latter portion was
 
 CH. vTii.] FINAL QUARREL 243 
 
 written six years after Johnson's death, and repre- 
 sents a hostile state of feehng towards Johnson : 
 and with this his constant correction and pointing 
 out of faults is to be connected. 
 
 And what a surprise for the " general reader," 
 what a subversion of the accepted cliches and 
 " common forms " of journalism, were it discovered 
 that at the last the affectionate intimacy was a 
 delusion, that it had no substance, and that it was 
 of a sudden broken off and abolished on the spot. 
 Yet so it was to fall out. For twenty years and 
 more Boswell had lavished his affection on his 
 friend, followed him like a dog — and sometimes 
 had to accept the treatment of a dog. When 
 he parted from him for the last time in 1784, it 
 was with the extremest agitation and grief. " I 
 accompanied him in Sir Joshua Reynolds's coach 
 to the entry of Bolt Court. He asked me whether 
 I would not go with him to his house ; I declined 
 it, from an apprehension that my spirits would sink. 
 We bade adieu to each other affectionately in the 
 carriage. When he had got down upon the foot- 
 pavement, he called out, ' Fare you well ! ' and, 
 without looking back, sprung away with a kind of 
 pathetic briskness (if I may use that expression) " — 
 and indeed he may, for it is an exceedingly happy 
 one — "and which seemed to indicate a struggle 
 to conceal uneasiness, and impressed me with a 
 foreboding of our long-coming separation." This
 
 ':U SFA'ENTII MOTOR rORCE (< m. vm. 
 
 was on tlic last day oi" .Uuw 1784 ; witliiii six 
 months the ljcxkI old Doctor was gone. 
 
 Atler heann<T this feeling- outhurst, which speaks 
 ot* genuine grief at its being tlie natural close of 
 twenty years of affection, who would not be 
 astounded to learn that the faithful disciple, — whom 
 tlie Doctor left almost in tears on that last parting, — 
 of a sudden, after a little over three weeks' interval, 
 took serious offence, and, after an almost frantic 
 outburst, broke off* all communication with him, 
 remained unreconciled, in spite of piteous entreaties, 
 till the very eve of the great man's death. Amazing ! 
 indeed, all but incredible ! 
 
 This denouement approached very rapidly. Some 
 three weeks after their parting, .Johnson wrote to 
 him from Ashbourne, where he had joined his 
 friend Dr. Taylor, a truly disastrous account of 
 his state : 
 
 " I know that your kindness makes you impatient 
 to know the state of my health, in which I cannot 
 boast of much improvement. I came through the 
 journey without much inconvenience, but when 1 
 attempt self-motion I find my legs weak, and my 
 breath very short ; this day 1 have been much dis- 
 ordered. I have no company ; the Doctor is busy 
 in his fields, and goes to bed at nine. ... I have 
 therefore all my amusement to seek within myself." 
 
 How affectionate was this, and how manly and 
 resigned ! A letter from Boswell seems to have
 
 CH. viii.J FINAL QUARREL 245 
 
 crossed this one, which he does not give, but 
 describes as being " filled with dejection and fretful- 
 ness, and at the same time expressing anxious 
 apprehensions concerning him on account of a 
 dream which had disturbed me." Johnson replied 
 in severe terms of rebuke ; it is a pity that Boswell 
 does not give the letter entire, but, as he is already 
 entering on his own vindication, its terms might 
 not be suited for his case. He says " it was chiefly 
 in terms of reproach for a supposed charge oj 
 affecting discontent and indulging the vanity of dis- 
 content. " But whatever may have been the character 
 of the rebuke, there were passages that should have 
 neutralized anything that was offensive. " Wiite 
 to me often, and write like a man. I consider your 
 fidelity and tenderness as a great part of the com- 
 forts that are left to me, and sincerely wish we 
 could be nearer to each other." (Here follow eight 
 stars denoting omissions. ) " My dear friend, life is 
 very short ; let us spend it as well as we can. 
 Love me as well as you can." Then, referring to 
 the dream : " Nothing ailed me at that time : let 
 your superstition at last have an end." In that 
 truly affectionate expostulation it is clear that the 
 Sage had used, as he had often done in severe 
 terms, his privilege of giving cautionary reproofs 
 and warnings to his erring charge, who had always 
 accepted the rod with due meekness and gratitude. 
 But the good Doctor, almost as soon as he had
 
 '^H) SKVKVril MO'l'OK FOKCK (di. viii. 
 
 dc-spatclifd his letter, felt that he had been a little 
 liarsh : so he sent off a seeond, in whieh he detailed 
 liis •• siifleriiigs," as he was desired to do — then 
 lioped his first letter would not he taken amiss, for 
 *• it eontains only truth, and that trutii kindly 
 intended. . . ." (Here another omission.) "INlake 
 the most and the best of your lot, and compare your- 
 self, not with the few, but with the multitudes that 
 are below you. . . ." (Here further omission.) "Go 
 steadily forward with lawful business or honest 
 diversion. . . ." (Again an omission.) "Thismayseem 
 but an ill return for your tenderness, but I mean it 
 well, for I love you with great ardour and sincerity." 
 Xo matter what were in the omitted passages, the 
 sweetness and eager wish to soothe his friend ought 
 to have atoned for all. But in those passages there 
 must have been rough and particular warnings — 
 references, probably, to Bozzy's dominating vices, 
 which the Doctor believed were gaining on him. 
 They could not have been admonitions of the same 
 class as those given ; otherwise Boswell would have 
 let them remain. They were things he did not wish 
 the public to know. 
 
 Now comes the wonder and surprise — it may 
 be the shame. Instead of being softened, and 
 falling, as it were, on his old friend's neck, he 
 was stung into frantic hostility, and from that 
 moment utterly broke off with him, and turned 
 away from one who was virtually a dying man ! All
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 247 
 
 the Doctor's gentle, persuasive entreaties seemed to 
 add only fresh offence. Bos well dropped all com- 
 munication, would answer no letters, and, obstinate 
 in his purpose to the last, let his once dear friend 
 go through his death-bed sufferings and pass away 
 without being beside him. He flung his old patron 
 away from him with all the marks of dislike 
 and resentment. It seems as shocking as it is 
 unaccountable. 
 
 Later, Boswell himself felt bound to offer some 
 clumsy and rather disingenuous excuses for his 
 conduct. It is the strangest, most memorable of 
 human documents : " I unfortunately was so much 
 indisposed during a considerable part of the year, 
 that it was not, or, at least, I tJiought it was not, 
 in my power to write to my illustrious friend as 
 formerly, or without expressing such complaints as 
 offended him. Having conjured him not to do me 
 the injustice of charging me with affectation, I was 
 with much regret long silent. His last letter to 
 me then came, and affected me very tenderly." 
 
 " Indisposed " during a considerable part of the 
 year ! But Bozzy had been enjoying himself in 
 town, attending dinner-parties up to July. We 
 hear nothing of his sickness. " Indisposed " may 
 therefore have been a gentle term for Bozzy's 
 having "gone on the drink," and then, as a con- 
 sequence, sunk into the dejection and miseries that 
 border on delirium tremens. " Indisposed " would
 
 'MS SKVENTII MO'l'OU FORCE [.ii. vm. 
 
 he []\c [oyicv's closcriptioii of Ins state. It Mas 
 Diily some madness of this kind that could 
 prompt him to treat his old friend so ; for does it 
 not seem madness to confess openly — and very 
 candidly, too — that it was jiof in Jiis power to ivrlte 
 to him on the old terms : as though some gross 
 afiront liad been oflered ( This was surely a 
 delusion, confirmed by a significant qualification, 
 "at least, I thought it was not." He confessed 
 that he was perfectly helpless to refrain from ex- 
 pressing such complaints as offended Johnson. 
 Poor Johnson, his diseases fast gathering upon 
 him, wondered and was grieved at the long silence. 
 One month before his death he made another 
 tender appeal, telling him that he was failing, had 
 lost ground : 
 
 " My legs are extremely weak, and my breath 
 very short, and the water is now increasing upon 
 me. In this uncomfortable state your letters used 
 to relieve. What is the reason that I have them 
 no longer ? Are you sick, or are you sullen ? 
 Whatever be the reason, if it be less than necessity, 
 drive it away ; and of the short life that we have, 
 make the best use for yourself and for your friends. 
 ... I am sometimes afraid that your omission 
 to wT-ite has some real cause, and shall be glad to 
 know that you are not sick, and that nothing ill has 
 befallen dear Mrs. Boswell or any of your family." 
 
 Again, who could resist ? or how hard-hearted
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 249 
 
 must have been the man who did ! But hear the 
 much-injured Boswell still brooding on his wrongs : 
 
 " Yet it was not a little painful to me to find 
 that, in a paragraph of this letter which I have 
 omitted, he still persevered in arraigning me as 
 before, which was strange in him who had so much 
 experience of what I suffered. I, however, wrote 
 to him two as kind letters as I could; the last of 
 which came too late to be read by him, for his 
 illness increased more rapidly upon him than I had 
 apprehended ; but I had the consolation of being 
 informed that he spoke of me on his death-bed 
 with affection, and I look forward with humble 
 hope of renewing our friendship in a better world." 
 
 It is remarkable that these resentful lines, at 
 whatever time they were written, were before 
 Boswell some seven years later, when on the eve of 
 issuing his volumes. Time therefore had not 
 softened or abated his sense of grievance. He was 
 compelled indeed, as we shall see, to make out 
 some justification for his desertion of his friend, 
 and had to maintain that he had been treated 
 badly. He was in a most awkward situation, for 
 he practically admitted that his state of hypo- 
 chondria, however produced, had reduced him to 
 a state of nervous helplessness in which he was 
 too weak to carry out his own wishes ; so he was 
 compelled, as it were, to show that he had been 
 treated tyrannically by his friend.
 
 5^50 SEVENTH MOTOll FORCE [ni. viii. 
 
 Can il \)c lliat at lliis supreme mDinent, wlieii 
 the i^Doil old Doeti)!" was about to sluiflle oil' liis 
 mortal eoil. and thus liually dissolve their eoimec- 
 tion, it eame haek upon Hoswell, in his i'uddled, 
 bemused st^iite, how mueh tyranny and insult he 
 had borne from him ? There he was now, lyiu^ 
 helpless and useless ; the end was eome ; he eould 
 insult no more and be of no more assistance to him. 
 After exploring the quarrel in all its bearings, I 
 can find no plausible solution but one that is un- 
 favourable to Bozzy — viz., that he cast his old friend 
 off when he eould do him neither good nor harm. 
 
 The most significant thing in this distressing 
 episode is that little sentence, " I wrote to him 
 two as kind letters as 1 could.'' Heavens ! the 
 devoted, faithful Boswell, so exuberant in his 
 devotion, flatteries, and flourishes, who cherished 
 every scrap of his writing, to set down such a 
 thing ! For what does it import ? — " I had to force 
 myself to write kindly to him, I was so charged 
 with resentment at his treatment of me. Only 
 that I kept a careful guard, my feeling of wrong 
 w^ould have compelled me to say what I should 
 have regretted." I can hardly bring myself to leave 
 this remarkable and unexpected utterance ; it seems 
 to convey so much, and that much so significant. 
 Here Bozzy is so disordered as to think that he is 
 making some great concession. Forced himself to 
 wTite kindly !
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 251 
 
 By an odd chance, we find this very incident 
 almost hterally repeated some eight years before, 
 when Johnson wrote him an angry reproof for his 
 " black-dog " fits — a letter in which Boswell has 
 suppressed passages which he had reasons for 
 not wishing the public to see — and, as on the 
 occasion of his later quarrel, Boswell was hurt : 
 " what I could not help thinking strangely un- 
 reasonable in him, who had suffered so much from 
 it himself, with a good deal of severity and reproof, 
 as if it were owing to my own fault or that I was 
 perhaps affecting it from a desire of distinction." 
 Here were almost the very words of the later 
 incident, and I have no doubt that he wrote them 
 down as throwing light on it. It is curious that 
 on this occasion also, a few days later, Johnson 
 repented him of his severity, and sent an apologetic 
 letter saying that he was more to be pitied than 
 reproached. 
 
 Bozzy was offended. For this letter also had a 
 paragraph or two of reproof, which he felt com- 
 pelled to omit. From a previous letter he made 
 omissions of the same kind, marking the place with 
 stars. These, he says, referred to his indulgence in 
 the glooms. Why omit them ? In many a letter 
 Johnson had roundly abused him for the same 
 weakness, and no omission was made. It may 
 reasonably be inferred that Johnson had spoken 
 roughly of his degrading failing.
 
 asa SEVENTH MOTOR FORCE [di. vm. 
 
 Boz/y's (k'scription really suits that of some 
 unfortunate who is struiiijlin}'' witii his eravinsf 
 and suflerint; from its ell'eets. Johnson, with all 
 his severe ailments, was eourageously travelling 
 about, visiting Birmingham and Oxford and other 
 places. But no l^oswell was attending him or 
 writing to him. W^hat followed was clearly the 
 fruit of drink dementia. " Having conjured him 
 not to do me the injustice of charghig me with 
 affectation, I was with regret long silent." A piece 
 of strained exaggeration that made a mountain 
 of a molehill, and looked at things through a cloud 
 which nothing could dissipate. He says he w^as 
 tenderly affected when Johnson wrote him a last 
 letter of remonstrance, asking w^as he sick or sullen ? 
 But even some years after the event Boswell was 
 looking at the incident through the same mists, 
 and still complains of his arraigning him as before. 
 
 One's own ordinary experience is often found a 
 useful guide in judging such matters. The late 
 John Forster, Dickens's biographer, had " taken 
 up " Brownmg when he was a young man, and 
 beginning the world : and for some twenty years 
 and more a fast " eternal " friendship was main- 
 tained between them. How often have I heard 
 Forster apologize, as it were, for not inviting me to 
 a dinner ! — " My dear friend, it is impossible. Sun- 
 day has ever been sacred to Browning and to a ttte- 
 a-tete dinner, when we talk of the old and happy
 
 cH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 253 
 
 days." This went on for some years more, when I 
 was asked : "Did you hear of the quarrel between 
 Forster and Browning ?" At a dinner Forster began 
 to scoff at a certain titled dame, whom Browning 
 warmly " stood up " for. To the astonishment of 
 all, some very angry remarks were interchanged, 
 when Forster said something very oliensive about 
 the lady ; on which Browning seized a decanter and 
 threatened, "If you say another word about that 
 lady, I will hurl this at your head !" Friends of 
 course interposed ; in time there was a reconciliation 
 dinner, where I was a guest ; but before it was over 
 the strife had nearly broken out again, owing to a 
 rather sneering remark of Forster's. I saw Browning 
 with a great effort try to remain silent. After that 
 they continued apart. Browning, explaining the 
 matter to his friends, would say : " I was tired of 
 his always wiping his shoes 07i me.'" An expressive 
 phrase ! They had travelled over each other's 
 minds again and again, and likely enough were 
 heartily bored with one another. And so the matter 
 came to a head. These violent delights have 
 often violent endings. 
 
 Boswell's obstinate and truly unmeaning absten- 
 tion from attending Johnson in his illness or when 
 dying was positively unfeeling when we think of 
 the long and closely intimate terms on which they 
 had been. He who had so pertinaciously clung to 
 his leader, in order to secure an accurate record of
 
 '2">4 J^FAKNTII M(TrOR FORCE [< ii. vni. 
 
 c\ cMV important ijuidcnt, now recklessly shut his 
 eyes to tlie inconsistency, and was content to let the 
 most important and most dramatic scene pass away 
 unrecorded. What matter ? He was totally indif 
 ferent. Others mit^ht collect the details if they 
 chose. It was no longer his business. IJutwhata 
 picture have we lost ! And think of this ! Boswell, 
 wiio would come to town on any pretext, now woidd 
 not attend his friend's burial, though a "state" one 
 in the Abbey ! 
 
 Thus, almost as soon as the breath had gone from 
 Johnson's brave old body, Bozzy found a serious 
 blank left in his records which could not be filled, 
 and he was obliged to have recourse to somewhat 
 pitiful devices. In a rather shamefaced fashion he 
 puts forth a sort of awkward apologia : 
 
 *' It is not my intention to giv^e a ve7'y minute 
 detail of the particulars of Johnson's remaining 
 days, of whom it was now evident that the crisis 
 was fast approaching when he must 'die like vien, 
 and fall like one of the princes.' Yet it will be in- 
 structive, as well as gratifying to the curiosity of 
 my readers, to record a few circumstances, on the 
 authenticity of which they may perfectly rely, as I 
 have been at the utmost pains to obtain an accurate 
 account of his last illness from the best authority." 
 
 This is quite amusing — " a very minute detail " ! 
 He would have been delighted to furnish it had he 
 had the means, but by his own act he had put it
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 255 
 
 out of his power. He seems to say that such a full 
 account was not unbecoming or unusual, and as a 
 concession to the " curiosity " of his readers he had 
 picked up all the details he could. He would 
 "gratify his readers" with a few circumstances. 
 He accordingly diligently sought and obtained 
 from friends — the doctors, the clergymen, and others 
 — quite an abundance of details, and also seems to 
 have sent " Brother David " to pick up for him 
 what matter he could. In this odd fashion he 
 insinuates that the business was not important 
 enough for his own service, so he entrusted it to 
 others. All the time he was only anxious merely 
 to gratify the curiosity of his readers. A good 
 illustration of Bozzy's tortuous ways. 
 
 This was, as it were, the first act of the sad 
 business which closed with the death of Johnson 
 — and Johnson unreconciled ! The second was to 
 bring Boswell a great public mortification. 
 
 After writing his late friend " two as kind letters 
 as he could " (one of which only arrived after the 
 death), Boswell says that he learned that the dying 
 man had spoken of him with affection — a great 
 consolation, he said. He could now at least think 
 of him without resentment. In his will there 
 would probably be some touching recognition of his 
 long and faithful service. The cloud would have 
 passed away. 
 
 No doubt everyone had the same thought, and
 
 256 SEVENTH MOTOU FORCE [. i.. vm. 
 
 in the Club circle it iiiiist often have been specuhitcd 
 over: "Of course Boswcll will be left everything, 
 and the old man had a good deal to leave." Some 
 visions of this kind, too, may have floated through 
 IJozzy's own clouded brain. What must have been 
 the general astonishment when it was learned that 
 the whole had passed to the black servant ! But to 
 Bozzy what a shock ! Not so much for the dis- 
 appointment, but for the mortifying situation. 
 What would people say or think ? How could he 
 explain it, for he would be pressed to explain ? 
 
 Bozzy had a small, sensitive soul ; anything that 
 touched his vanity, or made him appear little, hurt 
 him. His disinheriting, as it might be called, so 
 marked, so publicly done, seemed to him a bitter 
 affront. When the Doctor had spoken of him 
 charitably and with kindness, I fancy he thought 
 all was well. But when the will became known, 
 and he was disinherited, the wound opened again. 
 The sense of injustice recurred. 
 
 But now was to come a fresh mortification for 
 poor Bozzy. Johnson had selected a number of 
 books from his library, which he bequeathed to 
 sixteen chosen friends. But among them we find 
 no Boswell ! What ! not even an old book ? His 
 name was, indeed, not even mentioned. Hawkins 
 had a prominent share in the last scene. He per- 
 suaded Johnson to make a will ; he prepared it ; 
 got his friend spiritual aid ; suggested executors,
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 251* 
 
 etc. The mortified Bozzy takes care not to 
 mention these things, though he states that the 
 Knight was caught in the act of attempting to 
 steal some of the Doctor's papers ! 
 
 No one can beHeve for a moment that Johnson 
 wished to punish him by this exclusion. No, he 
 wished to act according to strict justice — not to 
 punish, but, still, not to reward or distinguish by a 
 favour. He did not reflect what a sad public 
 mortification he was inflicting on his friend. But 
 he could not bring himself to pretend a regard he did 
 not feel, and his sense of justice, as well as of truth, 
 would not allow him to confer a testimonial on 
 one who had treated him badly and ungratefully, 
 though he had forgiven. I think this is the true 
 explanation, and an answer to Bozzy 's rather 
 quibbling assertion, that other friends had met 
 with the same exclusion. For these he had full 
 regard, but not overflowing affection. This Bozzy 
 had lost for ever. 
 
 How his enemies would wonder, and perhaps 
 enjoy his public mortification ! For if anything 
 was notorious, it was the extraordinary and ex- 
 ceptional connection of the pair. Boswell was 
 desperately put to it to make out a case. Still, he 
 must say something. Why, for instance, was he not 
 left an old book, even, like the sixteen others ? He 
 felt this so acutely that he was foolish enough to 
 defend himself publicly, and entered on an elaborate 
 
 J7
 
 «5vS SEVENTH IMOTOll EOUCE [( ii. vm. 
 
 ari^imunt to prove tliat there were also others 
 pjLssed over hke hinisell', who liud received no old 
 h(>t)k. " It has l)ccn ohjeeted," he oddly says, 
 *• that .loliMsoii omitted many of his best friends," 
 etc. l?y '* ohjeeted " we may suppose he means 
 *' lias 1)0011 urged," tliough it is likely enough that 
 tlic *' objection " came solely from JMr. Boswell. 
 He names Dr. ^Vdams, Dr. Taylor, Dr. Burney, 
 Mr. Hector, Mr. Murphy, " the author of this work," 
 and others. Only two of these could be called 
 " best friends " — Dr. Taylor and Hector ; yet for 
 Taylor it was obvious that Johnson never had much 
 real aflfection. Murphy was only an acquaintance, 
 as was Dr. Burney. Hector certainly ought to have 
 had a pecuniary legacy. Boswell knew w^ell, at the 
 time the will was made, that the true reason for his 
 exclusion was that he had completely broken off all 
 relations with his former friend, and that Johnson 
 did not feel called upon to give him any public 
 token of regard. With some little malice, he calls 
 attention to the fact that Lucy Porter, his step- 
 daughter, received nothing, and was "much dis- 
 pleased, rejecting a ring which the negro had offered 
 her." And he rather needlessly states that "she 
 ought to have considered that she had left nothing 
 to Johnson by her will, which was made during 
 his lifetime, as appeared at her decease." He thus 
 took the trouble to give convincing proof of what 
 he affirmed. His point was that, if he w^ere treated
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 259 
 
 badly, others also were so treated. Altogether, 
 it makes a sad and rather humiliating episode. 
 Adams, too, was not a "best friend," for he saw but 
 little of him — only on a rare visit to Oxford. But 
 " the author of this work " ought not, surely, to be 
 placed in such a category, for he was the " best of 
 all best friends," his intimate companion, guide, and 
 worshipper. But then comes the weakest reason 
 offered for the exclusion : Johnson was near his 
 end, so he could not compose himself to think and 
 deliberately select — *' he probably mentioned such 
 names as happened to occur to him.'' Anyone 
 who reads the list of the sixteen recipients will 
 see that they were carefully selected, and he had 
 Hawkins beside him to assist his memory. But, 
 again, urges Bozzy, " he may have recollected that 
 he had formerly shown others such proofs of his 
 regard that it was not necessary to crowd his will 
 with their navies T* This was mere special plead- 
 ing ; of course he included himself in this category. 
 
 * I was one night attending a pleasant Johnson supper at 
 Lichfield with the late Dr. Garnett, when I chanced to start 
 the subject of this testamentary treatment of Boswell, which 
 Dr. Garnett treated in the opposite sense. Could it not 
 be, he urged, that the Doctor, by allowing himself to be 
 reported so fully, and by, as it were, enduring his Bozzy for 
 so many years, had really left him what he knew would turn 
 out to be a substantial fortune in the shape of his own col- 
 lected utterances ? There was a half-ironical, half-humorous 
 glance as the Doctor suggested this view, as though he did not 
 entirely accept it.
 
 i>60 SEVENTH MOTOR EOUCK [< ii. vm. 
 
 Hut, surely, so pre-eminent was Boswell's claim on 
 Ills reiiK nibranco that he stood above all, and in his 
 cjkse to be so marked and tabooed became a positive 
 stigma. Sagacious judges must at once have seen 
 — so marked was the exclusion — that nothing short 
 of a quarrel could account lor it. 
 
 The will* was a deliberate and carefully-drawn 
 paper that had taken much time and much care to 
 \sTite. In it were some thirty beneficiaries, of all 
 sorts and classes — money left to some, souvenirs to 
 others — but no mention whatever of the faithful 
 follower. So it is clear that the exclusion was of 
 set purpose. 
 
 Boswell's curious commentary has always seemed 
 to me to be most characteristic, from the aigre 
 tone and the almost open confession that he was 
 dealing with a matter that was painful and dis- 
 agreeable to him, but too serious to be passed 
 over. For everyone mentioned he has a stroke 
 of some sort. It must be said that Bos well was 
 disingenuously striving to throw dust in the eyes 
 of friends and readers. 
 
 As to his will some reflections will occur. It 
 was a strange one for a professedly religious man. 
 There is not a line referring to the poor or to 
 charitable objects. Instead, practically the whole 
 was given to a negro servant, a person of no very 
 
 * One recalls Stiggins's anxious inquiries of Sam as to 
 Mrs. Weller's will.
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 261 
 
 particular merit. From the testator's rather trivial 
 boast that Francis should be nobilissimus — that is, 
 that people should admire and wonder at his good- 
 fortune and Johnson's liberality — there would seem 
 to be a slight touch of vanity here, as who should 
 say, See how magnificently a great man can pro- 
 vide for a great man's servant. No scruple seems 
 to have disturbed him. He provided, however, for 
 some old debt by way of restitution. However, 
 these are but specks upon the sun. And here also 
 we may ask ourselves, Was it quite becoming in so 
 great a sage and moralist to take note of offence in 
 this rather petty fashion ? Would not a great soul 
 disdain to mark his displeasure by such an act as 
 withholding an old book ? But I think, on the 
 whole, the act only justifies his sturdy nobility of 
 soul. He looked on the gift of these souvenirs, 
 which were practically valueless,* as conscientious 
 testimonials, and he could not bring himself to 
 present one to a person whose conduct he dis- 
 approved of. 
 
 When we think of Bozzy's servitude, twenty 
 years long, his assiduous, never-failing attendance, 
 his usefulness, his patience, his good-nature, his 
 kind thoughtfulness, shall we not incline to say 
 
 * I have had in my possession a folio " Twiss''s Travels," 
 ex dono auctoris, once belonging to Johnson, and with his 
 autograph. I have given this book, which is also mentioned 
 with favour by the Doctor in the Life, to the Johnson 
 Library at Lichfield.
 
 ^6^ SKVENTH xMOTOH TOHCE [( h. mm. 
 
 tliat he luid a most serious claim on liis friend's 
 bounty ( It ^^■«l!>i he, not the negro, who should 
 iia\e been iiubilissimns. l*oor Hozzy was literally 
 criblc lie (hitcs — "hard up,' as it is called — and no 
 one would have been surprised had his name figured 
 for £1,000 or so. Johnson knew of his difHculties, 
 and might have relieved them. Can it be that 
 here was a further reason for Boswell's resentment 
 — that it had leaked out that Johnson had resolved 
 to leave all to the favoured black ? 
 
 The idea of the "grand old Samuel," as 
 Thackeray calls him, giving up his soul without 
 the faithful henchman hovering round or kneeling 
 to receive his last benison must have seemed to the 
 Society an incredible, unthinkable thing. The pro- 
 gress of Johnson's disease, or rather diseases, was 
 known everywhere, but as the fatal hour came 
 closer and closer Mr. Boswell did not fly to town 
 to be in time, but w^as content to rest in his torpor 
 at Auchinleck. 
 
 It is sad to think, and it is beyond dispute, that 
 Johnson with his faithful Boswell should both have 
 died before their time — one from indulgence in the 
 good things of the table, the other from a too 
 sottish indulgence in drink. In the great Doctor's 
 case it was truly a deplorable business. But it has 
 been condoned. All know his greedy methods of 
 taking his food, his gorging it, as it were, till the 
 veins in his face swelled. He would not even
 
 CH. VIII.] FINAL QUARREL 
 
 speak while he was thus engrossed. How are we 
 to account for this weakness in so great a man, 
 one who so carefully searched his conscience ? 
 The first avenging stroke came in the night. 
 But after the friendly and gratuitous doctors had 
 brought him round with cantharides, etc., our 
 Sage, neglecting the warning, could not resist invi- 
 tations to dinner-parties, and, amazing to relate, 
 "gorged" away as before. According to medical 
 prognostics, it is certain that he would have had 
 another stroke within a few months which would 
 have despatched him ; but his other diseases — 
 dropsy, asthma, affections of the kidneys and liver 
 — were fatally increased by self-indulgence ; while 
 Boswell, deprived of his chief restraint, became 
 more and more addicted to the bottle, even falling 
 in the street and injuring himself. This sad, un- 
 dignified fate of two such notable men, both pre- 
 sumed to be of pious life and pious feelings, is little 
 known, or at least little thought of.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 EIGHTH MOTOR 1 ORCE — JOHNSON ASSAILED 
 
 This strange, unexpected heading is likely to 
 make the reader start. Johnson assailed, slandered, 
 by his old friend ! It had, then, come to this. 
 He had taken offence passively — that is, had with- 
 drawn into himself, had put aside all approaches, 
 and silently nourished his resentment. But now, 
 seven years later, he was to go further — to speak 
 out and actually libel his old friend ! 
 
 Boswell had the hostile memory of his grievances 
 before him in 1790-91, when he was getting ready 
 to publish. " Poor old Johnson !" he might have 
 said, " I was too touchy, and was unkind to him, 
 and need say nothing of our falling out." Seven 
 years had elapsed. It was an old story now, and 
 his more tender feelings might have been roused. 
 But then, how explain his own neglect and aban- 
 donment of the great man — how, unless by show- 
 ing that Johnson was the aggressor and had 
 treated him badly ? During those years the 
 offence, whatever it was, had rankled. He had 
 brooded over it. What he wrote was not Avritten 
 
 264
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 265 
 
 at the time, since when it might have faded 
 out and have been forgotten. No, he was at the 
 close of his labours, and on the eve of publishing ; 
 his wrongs rose up before him ; now he could vin- 
 dicate himself, set himself right with the public, 
 and show that Johnson had treated him unjustly. 
 He would tell the whole story in the face of the 
 world. And this led him to a most extraordinary 
 and unbecoming explosion of feeling, which really 
 shocks. 
 
 When he came to write down particulars of the 
 death scene, he ushered it in with a solemn, all but 
 touching eloquence. " My readers," he says, " are 
 now at last to behold Samuel Johnson " (in capitals) 
 " preparing himself for that doom from which the 
 most exalted powers afford no exemption to man." 
 A fine, solemn prelude, fitting opening for an 
 effective panegyric. We can fancy our author pro- 
 ceeding to moralize, with overflowing sympathy, 
 over the sad details. But — oh, amazement ! — we 
 find the disciple interrupting himself of a sudden, 
 and turning aside to make a sharp, bitter attack, 
 ransacking the Sage's diaries and secret notes 
 to find something out of his own mouth that 
 shall criminate him. He maintained that Johnson's 
 self-reproaches were really founded on the truth : 
 he was repenting him of old sins, long concealed 
 under the guise of neglects or omissions, but which 
 he (Boswell), studying between the lines, could set
 
 '.'(i(; EIGHTH MOTOR FORCE (m. ix. 
 
 in tluMr true liij^ht ;is real heinous sins of dc- 
 baufln. r\ . How wondert'iil, how monstrous, is this, 
 how unexpected! What did it mean ^ What is 
 to 1)0 thought of this cruel mixture of attack and 
 insinuation introduced at the very moment when 
 lie was about to give us the sad story of his great 
 friend's departure from life ? These confessions 
 referred to lapses from virtue in early youth, 
 wlien he first " came up to town." Bos well had, 
 as he fancied, much to forgive ; but he had not 
 forgiven, though years had passed. It is clear 
 to me that he could not forget the mortification 
 he had suffered from the testamentary affront the 
 Doctor had put upon him. The whole episode had, 
 indeed, brought him a sort of discredit. He seemed 
 to have lost caste. He must now tell his part of 
 his story, and justify himself. He was led, I fancy, 
 scarcely conscious of the disloyalty of his act, to raise 
 the veil on Johnson's early life, and, with no a propos 
 whatever, drag in an unseemly charge of loose 
 habits, etc. This he feebly justifies on the pretext 
 of duly " levelling dowTi " the Sage to a lowest 
 moral standard, with a view of justifying his own 
 lapses by high example, and also to show that the 
 great preacher and moralist was not so good as he 
 claimed to be. It will be seen that the ashes of the 
 old resentment were still " alive." In no other way 
 can we account for this wanton attack. 
 
 The fashion in which Boswell ventured on this
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 267 
 
 perilous course takes shape as one of the most 
 artfully deprecatory bits of defamation that can be 
 conceived. He begins by making a charge against 
 Sir John Hawkins of insinuating in a " strange dark 
 manner " that Johnson had led a disorderly life in 
 his youth, which, he says, would "give occasion 
 to injurious suspicions, as if there had been some- 
 thing of more than ordinary criminality." There 
 was nothing " strange " or " dark." The Knight 
 merely said that Johnson had not lived up to all 
 his teachings and theories, and that he dreaded 
 to meet his Saviour — in short, what any dying 
 Christian would say. What should we expect to 
 follow? — A refutation by Bozzy, surely, or a 
 defence of his friend. Nothing of the kind ! "On 
 that account, therefore, as well as from the regard 
 to truth which he inculcated, I am to mention (with 
 all possible respect and delicacy, however) that his 
 conduct . . . was not strictly virtuous. ... It 
 was well known that his amorous inclinations," etc. 
 But what will be said when it is found that this 
 statement was a pure invention? The whole 
 matter, in fact, is a bewildering delusion of Bos- 
 well's, whose poor brain must have been clouded 
 by fumes at the moment. 
 
 And " Here," says his friend solemnly, " let the 
 profane and licentious pause ; let them not thought- 
 lessly say that Johnson was a hypocrite^ or that his 
 principles were not firm, because his practice was not
 
 MdS EIGHTH MOTOR FORCE [en. ix. 
 
 uiiifonnlji cunfonnahlc to :c//(i( /w projcsstd. ... Is a 
 prodi»i^al a hypocrite when lie owns his extravagance 
 will brin*^ him to ruin aiul misery ? We are 6'U7T he 
 /u'/it'i'is it, hut imnu'iUdfc incHiuition, strengthened 
 hy indulgence, prevails over that behefin influencing 
 his conduct, ^^lly, then, shall credit be refused to 
 the sincerity of tliose who acknowledge their per- 
 suasion of moral and religious duty, yet sometimes 
 fail of living as it requires ?" 
 
 What an amazing suggestion is here ! — John- 
 son was not a pharisaical hypocrite ; but he did 
 compound for indulgence in sin by doing good 
 and righteous things — a favourite theory of Bos- 
 well's own. Poor Johnson thus comes from the 
 hands of his defender as damaged as he could 
 be. But Mr. Boswell adds complacently : " I am 
 conscious that this is the most difficult and dan- 
 gerous part of my biographical work, and I cannot 
 but be very anxious concerning it. I trust that I 
 have got through it, preserving at once my regard 
 to truth, to my friend, and to the interests of virtue 
 and religion." 
 
 Croker, writing to Lord Brougham, says there is 
 not the least evidence that Johnson lived laxly. 
 He fancied that Boswell had heard these things 
 from Beauclerk, a man of loose life himself (such 
 men delight in making others out as bad as them- 
 selves) : " When I began my Johnsonian inquiries, 
 I consulted many who had known Bozzy, on this
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 269 
 
 very point, and they explained it as one of Bozzy's 
 crazy tricks, introduced to sanction his own." 
 
 It is clearly a defence of his own manner of 
 life, and thus supplies yet one more proof of 
 our thesis— that Bos well's " Life " was all through 
 the life of himself — and a tu quoque vindication. 
 It is as who should say : " Don't point the 
 finger at me. If my course has been lax, what 
 do you say now to our great moralist?" The 
 fact was that Boswell was all the time, as it 
 were, covering himself behind Johnson, enforcing 
 his favourite and most convenient doctrine, that 
 evil practice was quite consistent with pious prin- 
 ciple. But however this may be, this strange man 
 introduces us to his account of the dying Johnson 
 by telling us that he had much guilt to repent of. 
 The much-vilified Hawkins was infinitely more 
 equitable when he spoke in a "strange dark manner" 
 of Johnson's frailty, simply because he knew nothing 
 certain about the matter. 
 
 Having launched the slander, our author in his 
 own odd way tries to minimize : " It is of essential 
 consequence to keep in view that there was in this 
 excellent man's conduct no false principle of com- 
 mutation, no deliberate indulgence in sin, in con- 
 sideration of a counterbalance of duty. His offending 
 and his repenting were distinct and separate ; and 
 when we consider his almost unexampled attention 
 to truth, his inflexible integrity, his constant piety.
 
 '270 KIGIITH MOTOR FOKCK [( n. tx. 
 
 who will (iarr to 'cast a stone at him'? Besides, 
 let it ne\er he tor»ifolteii that he cannot be charged 
 witii any ollenee indicating' badness of heart, any- 
 thing dishonest, base, or malignant ; but that, on 
 the contrary, he was charitable in an extraordinary 
 degree." An odd plaidoijcr, ahiiost suggesting the 
 very contrary of what he was urging. 
 
 This pamful incident therefore proves that seven 
 years after Johnson's death his former friend had 
 not forgotten or forgiven. But the whole was 
 neither more nor less than a libel, being founded on 
 an eccentric proceeding of the Sage's — his bringing 
 a cyprian or two to a tavern to hear their story or 
 counsel them — or his charitable act of carrying on 
 his back to his rooms, where he tended her, one 
 whom he found ill or dying in the street. 
 
 It may be added that Sir Walter Scott, who 
 lived in Boswell's time and city, and knew a good 
 deal about him, put these tales aside, taking the view 
 1 have taken, that Bozzy deluded himself into these 
 calumnies as a justification of his own errors. The 
 opinion of so wonderful a judge of character as 
 Scott has a value all but judicial, especially in the 
 case of a fellow-countryman. He was inclined to 
 think there was a touch of insanity in Boswell's pro- 
 ceedings. And it comes in aid of the theory I am 
 setting forth here, of Bozzy 's interposing himself 
 between the world and Johnson, that Scott thought 
 of him " as the jackanapes on the bear's back ;
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 271 
 
 he could contrive to play his leader tricks, by 
 getting him into awkward situations to see how 
 he would look."* 
 
 The ideally satisfactory edition of " Boswell's 
 Johnson" is still waited for. The principles of 
 editing have yet to be discovered and applied by 
 some man of genius of the Macaulay pattern ; the 
 mere navvies and hodmen and searchers in encyclo - 
 pffidias and magazines have so far done but little. 
 The most useful and legitimate specimens we have 
 are Malone's editions, prepared with wonderful 
 reserve — which it is almost comic to put beside 
 the Birkbeck Hill overgrown cyclopgedia (for such 
 it is). Malone's should be the pattern. 
 
 Mr. Croker — a man of great ability, though an 
 eccentric writer — was a fairly sound commentator. 
 Those who succeeded him fell into corrupt, un- 
 scientific methods, the chiefest of which was 
 explaining allusions and illustrating the text in- 
 
 * One of the most lamentable things, which every true 
 Boswellian must lament " to his dying day," is the loss of 
 Scotfs contribution to BoswelPs history. It is odd that 
 they never met, though at one time both were living in the 
 same city. Sir Walter good-naturedly furnished Mr. Croker 
 with some valuable notes, recollections, etc., particularly of 
 the old Auchinleck ; but he also promised to supply a commen- 
 tary on the proof-sheets, which were duly sent to him, and 
 which he enriched with notes of value, as they suggested so 
 much to his memory. Unhappily, these were lost in the 
 post — a most serious calamity.
 
 27'» EIGHTH MOTOU rOUCE |( ii. i\. 
 
 sanely by a *' supcrth^tation " of parallel passages. 
 Crokor pointed tnit that HoswelTs itiind oiiiifht to 
 be the true objeet ot" study. The relation between 
 his character and that of .lohnson ought to ofler a 
 curious field of inquiry, and one of overpower- 
 ing interest. The result of the system whicb 
 Dr. Birkbeek Hill carried out so thoroughly was to 
 concentrate all attention on the mere dryasdust 
 aspects of the book, instead of treating it as a rare 
 study of character. 
 
 Anyone seeking a few hours' genuine entertain- 
 ment will find it in Dr. Birkbeck Hill's learned and 
 most diligent lucubrations. Some of the touches are 
 infinitely diverting. As is well know^n, the Doctor's 
 ideal of Boswellian editing was to go about with a 
 barrow, pick up every derelict " parallel passage " 
 that could be found, and shovel it into his notes. 
 Who will forget the ludicrous sketch draw^n by 
 himself of all his painful labours ? — how often as he 
 lay aw^ake of nights, or when just " dropping off," 
 of a sudden there flashed on him another " parallel 
 passage !" Oh, joy ! In an instant he was up and 
 at his desk : the lamp was lit, and down went the 
 " parallel passage," secured beyond escape, while 
 the poor partner of his joys and sorrows strove to 
 recapture her murdered sleep. 
 
 Here was one of the most extraordinary delu- 
 sions that ever entered a commentator's soul. It 
 developed and giew until it became morbid, and
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 
 
 the commentary swallowed up the text altogether. 
 The extent to which he carried his hobby, or, 
 rather, to which it carried him, is inconceivable. 
 Once Johnson alluded in a letter to Hockley-in- 
 the-Hole — a low resort ; whereupon Dr. Birkbeck 
 Hill laboriously collected and quoted no fewer than 
 twenty passages from various writers in which the 
 place was simply alluded to. 
 
 Commentaries on Boswell's great biography 
 seem in these latter days to have an extraordinary 
 fascination. Numbers of writers are constantly exer- 
 cising their wits on the more perplexing passages, 
 searching out the various " mysteries " involved — 
 with more or less success. I can recall that cul- 
 tured and deeply-read critic, the late Rev. Whit- 
 well Elwin, one of the most amiable of scholars, 
 saying to me that " he could imagine no more 
 delightful duty than that of editing Boswell." 
 Croker is so valuable because he gathered up all 
 the tradition, and actually talked with some who 
 had known the Sage. Still, he distinguished him- 
 self by a whole series of what are familiarly called 
 " mare's-nests," such as that Johnson was " out " in 
 the " forty-five," and had to hide in London* 
 
 I have devoted some large volumes to showing 
 the abundant mistakes into which the two leading 
 commentators on Boswell's great book have been 
 
 * See the author's work on " Boswell and Croker's 
 Boswell,"" which has a full collection of these oddities. 
 
 18
 
 'i:^ KUillTII MOTOR FOIU'K [< »«• "X- 
 
 beguiled by their cntluisiasin. Yet with all this 
 profuse, superabundant invcstiiratioii, there are 
 many important dilliculties not cleared up and left 
 obscure. Such is, for instance, Johnson's application 
 for an increased pension on the ground of poverty. 
 But there is a conspicuous instance of error — ahnost 
 perversely insisted on — which I am tempted to deal 
 with here, and put on record the true significance 
 of a passage in Johnson's life which was strangely 
 misunderstood by both Croker and Dr. Birkbeck 
 Hill. This is the question : " How long did John- 
 son remain at Oxford ?" 
 
 These editors maintain that he was there for little 
 over a year. But it can be convincingly shown 
 that the period was th?'ee years. Anyone who 
 reads calmly Boswell's full and minute account of 
 Johnson's stay must feel that it is an account of 
 a prolonged stay. The high reputation that he 
 enjoyed with the authorities, his extraordinary dis- 
 play of learning, could only have been secured 
 during a period of years. The Heads must have felt 
 a sort of pride in their gifted alumnus, and this 
 may account for their indulgence to his irregular 
 attendances while he, poor youth ! was struggling 
 to secure assistance. But the authoritative state- 
 ment of Boswell, evidently founded on intimate 
 knowledge, that the period was three years, will 
 strike everyone, and is convincing. 
 
 With a sad lack of critical sagacity, these two
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 2T5 
 
 commentators have rashly ventured to impeach Bos- 
 well's accuracy, and I venture to say that after a 
 consideration of a few moments the reader will agree 
 that their contention is impossible to maintain, and 
 should never have been raised. Mr. Croker found, 
 from an examination of the buttery-books, that 
 Johnson's name was not set down, so that he had 
 no meals, and therefore had not resided at the 
 college. Dr. Birkbeck Hill long after followed 
 suit, and more elaborately tried to support this 
 thesis. Now, in the first place, it will be seen to 
 conviction that two persons who ought to know — 
 to wit, Bos well and Hawkins — were in actual com- 
 munication with Johnson, and had taken down from 
 him particulars as to the " Lives " which both were 
 writing. Boswell went constantly to Oxford with 
 Johnson, and there he obtained from Dr. Adams, 
 Johnson's tutor, all the facts that were necessary 
 for his account of Johnson's stay at the place. 
 Would not his necessary question to tutor and 
 pupil be : " Sir, how long was your stay at Oxford?" 
 Is it likely that he would set down as a mere guess 
 the period that he gives ? But how much more 
 authoritatively speaks Sir John Hawkins, evidently 
 primed from the fountain-head ! Every word of his 
 statement proves that he was in possession of 
 official information. " The time of his continuance 
 at Oxford is divisible into two periods : the first 
 from October 31, 1728, to December 1729, when
 
 'fH'y KIGirril MOTOR roUCE [(.I. ix. 
 
 he letl the j)lafc, tlu' reason whcrt'of was a failure 
 i)f pcHiiniarv supplies Ironi his father." Hut some- 
 one in tlu' Cathedral, it is supposed, havin<j^ fur- 
 nished the cash, "lie returned and made up the 
 whole i)\' his residence — about three years," thoui^h 
 he iiad to leave without a de<rree. This rather 
 humiliating aid he did not confide to Boswell. 
 The stiitement is supported by another version, of 
 his being employed to " shepherd " a young fellow 
 named Corbett, whose father paid for Johnson, but 
 whose aid was soon withdrawn. All which seems 
 quite convincing, and brushes away the cobwebs 
 about buttery-books, entries, etc. 
 
 The story of the Corbett aid w^as as follows : 
 i\lr. Andrew Corbett of Lichfield was sending his 
 son to Pembroke, and thought that Johnson would 
 be of use as a sort of " grinder." According to Sir 
 John, the young man did not relish Johnson's 
 teaching, and his father took him away after some 
 months. Sir John states positively that all that 
 .Johnson, who was left in sore straits, could obtain 
 from the father was a?i agreement to pay for his 
 rorffmons. This would account for the irregular 
 entries, rather than no entries, in the books — the 
 charges being put to Mr. Corbett \s account. 
 
 But there is another proof equally convincing. 
 What Johnson accomplished at college is admitted 
 to have been something amazing. For a mere youth, 
 he was a " dungeon of learning." His Latin trans-
 
 CH. IX.] JOHNSON ASSAILED 277 
 
 lation, later published, was thought extraordinary. 
 He made friends, he attracted attention as a won- 
 derful young scholar. Now, it may be asked, is it 
 likely that a young beginner could have accom- 
 plished all this within thirteen months ? Nay, was it 
 likely — and this is most important — that Johnson, 
 after a residence of a few months, would have set 
 up in later life as the proud son of his college, and 
 taken the airs of a long-standing habitue ? He 
 would have disdained such a thing, for he would 
 know that he had only just begun his course. And 
 he knew, too, that there would be numbers to 
 remind him, and the public especially, that he had 
 no real connection with the University, and had 
 been compelled to leave it. 
 
 But what completely oversets the buttery-book 
 theory is the fact that after Johnson's presumed 
 departure there are two or three entries in these 
 books showing that Johnson had been supplied 
 with something. He was therefore on the books ; 
 indeed, his name was always carried forward with 
 the others, though no " commons " were set down 
 to him. Does not this suggest that, owing to some 
 compassionate treatment, he was allowed to " hold 
 on " in an irregular way until some arrangement 
 could be made, and he was all the time getting out- 
 side as cheaply as he could the little food he needed ? 
 It must be considered that the University or the 
 college would not like to cut adrift so brilliant and
 
 278 EIGHTH MOTOR FORCE [di. ix. 
 
 promisiu!,^ a yoiilli. aiul would connive at irrcgii- 
 laritics. Aiiollu r view is tliat lie may liave regularly 
 taken his coinmons. which were charged to another. 
 Antl so, on the whole, the large, broad view may be 
 taken that Boswell and Hawkins knew^ by informa- 
 tion the actual truth of what they were stating ; 
 wliereas Croker and Birkbeek Hill could only 
 speculate. 
 
 Again, the programme and course of Johnson's 
 studies were (juite incompatible with a short stay. 
 He devoted himself to the classics, ethics, and 
 theology, including a course of the Fathers. Sir 
 John Hawkins had six folios of his filled with plans 
 for his multifarious reading. Johnson's wonderfid 
 acquaintance with ancient tongues and modern 
 could not have been gained in thirteen months, 
 though it might have been gained in thirty-six. 
 
 It is remarkable, as a proof of Johnson's con- 
 fidence in Hawkins, that he should have told him 
 that when he left college he found his father a 
 bankrupt. How likely that this would have sug- 
 gested talk on his own hapless ease, how he had 
 been forced to leave, etc. !
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 i/envoi 
 
 At the close of this very minute investigation we 
 might ask, What would be the impression left on 
 the mind of an unsophisticated reader, one previously 
 unfamiliar with the great book ? He would surely 
 exclaim : " Why, this is no Life of Johnson. It is 
 all about Boswell — his thoughts, feelings, loves, dis- 
 likes, and adventures. Where does the Sage come 
 in ?" This prominence, in truth, overpowers every- 
 thing else ; and the same impression is surely left 
 when one reads the original work itself. As I have 
 said in the course of this discussion, it would not 
 be difficult to collect a sort of biography of Boswell 
 from the materials for the biography of Johnson. 
 For this, indeed, as I have pointed out, though 
 called a " Life of Dr. Johnson," is on the title 
 carefully limited and cut down so as to admit of 
 other departments, " comprehending," as he puts 
 it, " a view of literature and literary men for nearly 
 half a century during which he flourished." 
 
 But the whole case I have been putting forward 
 does not rest upon the " Life " alone. It can be 
 
 279
 
 ^SO L'ENVOI I (II. X. 
 
 shown that during liis busy, restless lite Hoswell's 
 exertions were direeted to tlie one chief aim — that 
 of advertising;- in every })ossible way his own 
 sayinijs and movements. And if we go over the 
 offieial list of his writings — the familiar letters to 
 Andrew Erskine ; the Tour in Corsica, '* compre- 
 hending "his travels and conversations with Paoli 
 and his various adventures ; his political letters 
 to the people of Scotland ; the curious and odd 
 papers on hypochondria, where he describes all 
 his sufferings from that malady — we shall find 
 tliat they mostly deal with matters connected witli 
 himself. In such magazines as The London, The 
 Scots, and others in which he had secured a share 
 of the proprietorship, he was thus enabled to insert 
 almost anything that he pleased, and in these 
 he issued, without restraint, all his angry con- 
 troversies with ladies and others. Here also were 
 reported, as if in a newspaper, all his movements. 
 
 THE END 
 
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