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1775

literary history, I fhall therefore insert some paffages which were ftruck out, it
does not appear why, either by himself or those who revised it. They appear Etat. 66.
printed in a few proof leaves of it in my poffeffion, marked with corrections

in his own hand-writing.. I shall distinguish them by Italicks.

In the paragraph where he says, the Americans were incited to refiftance by European intelligence from "men whom they thought their friends, but who were friends only to themselves," there followed,—" and made, by their felfisbnefs, the enemies of their country."

And the next paragraph ran thus: "On the original contrivers of mischief, rather than on those whom they have deluded, let an infulted nation pour out its vengeance."

The paragraph which came next was in these words: " Unhappy is that country, in which men can hope for advancement by favouring its enemies. The tranquillity of ftable government is not always eafily preferved against the machinations of fingle innovators; but what can be the hope of quiet, when factions hoftile to the legislature can be openly formed and openly avowed?"

After the paragraph which now concludes the pamphlet, there followed this, in which he certainly means the great Earl of Chatham, and glances at a certain popular Lord Chancellor :

"If, by the fortune of war, they drive us utterly away, what they will do next can only be conjectured. If a new monarchy is erected, they will want a KING. He who firft takes into his hand the fceptre of America, fhould have a name of good omen. WILLIAM has been known both as conqueror and deliverer; and perhaps England, however contemned, might yet fupply them with ANOTHER WILLIAM. Whigs, indeed, are not willing to be governed; and it is poffible that KING WILLIAM may be strongly inclined to guide their measures: but Whigs have been cheated like other mortals, and fuffered their leader to become their tyrant, under the name of their PROTECTOR. What more they will receive from England, no man can tell. In their rudiments of empire they may want a CHANCELLOR.”

Then came this paragraph:

"Their numbers are, at prefent, not quite fufficient for the greatness which, in Some form of government or other, is to rival the ancient monarchies; but, by Dr. Franklin's rule of progreffion, they will, in a century and a quarter, be more than equal to the inhabitants of Europe. When the Whigs of America are thus multiplied, let the Princes of the earth tremble in their palaces. If they fhould continue to double and to double, their own hemifphere will not contain them. But let not our boldest oppugners of authority look forward with delight to this futurity of Whiggifm."

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1775.

Etat. 66.

How it ended I know not, as it is cut off abruptly at the foot of the last of thefe proof pages.

His pamphlets in fupport of the measures of adminiftration were published on his own account, and he afterwards collected them into a volume, with the title of "Political Tracts, by the Authour of the Rambler," with this motto,

"Fallitur egregio quifquis fub Principe credit

"Servitium, numquam libertas gratior extat
Quam fub Rege pio."

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CLAUDIANUS.

Thefe pamphlets drew upon him numerous attacks. Against the common weapons of literary warfare he was hardened; but there were two instances of animadverfion which I communicated to him, and from what I could judge, both from his filence and his looks, appeared to me to imprefs him much.

One was, a "A Letter to Dr. Samuel Johnfon, occafioned by his late political Publications." It appeared previous to his "Taxation no Tyranny," and was written by Dr. Jofeph Towers. In that performance, Dr. Johnson was treated with the refpect due to fo eminent a man, while his conduct as a political writer was boldly and pointedly arraigned, as inconfiftent with the character of one, who, if he did employ his pen upon politicks, "it might reafonably be expected should diftinguifh himself, not by party violence and rancour, but by moderation and by wisdom."

It concluded thus: "I would, however, wifh you to remember, fhould you again addrefs the publick under the character of a political writer, that luxuriance of imagination or energy of language will ill compenfate for the want of candour, of justice, and of truth. And I fhall only add, that should I hereafter be difpofed to read, as I heretofore have done, the most excellent of all your performances, THE RAMBLER,' the pleasure which I have been accuftomed to find in it will be much diminished by the reflection that the writer of fo moral, fo elegant, and fo valuable a work, was capable of proftituting his talents in fuch productions as The Falfe Alarm,' the Thoughts on the Transactions refpecting Falkland's Islands,' and The Patriot."

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I am willing to do juftice to the merit of Dr. Towers, of whom I will say, that although I abhor his Whiggifh democratical notions and propenfities, (for I will not call them principles,) I efteem him as an ingenious, knowing, and very convivial man.

The other inftance was a paragraph of a letter to me, from my old and most intimate friend the Reverend Mr. Temple, who wrote the character of

Gray,

1775

Gray, which has had the honour to be adopted both by Mr. Mason and Dr. Johnson in their accounts of that poet. The words were, "How can Atat. 66. your great, I will not fay your pious, but your moral friend, fupport the barbarous measures of administration, which they have not the face to ask even their infidel penfioner Hume to defend."

However confident of the rectitude of his own mind, Johnfon may have felt fincere uneafinefs that his conduct fhould be erroneously imputed to unworthy motives, by good men, and that the influence of his valuable writings. fhould on that account be in any degree obftructed or leffened.

He complained to a Right Honourable friend of diftinguished talents and very elegant manners, with whom he maintained a long intimacy, and whofe generofity towards him will afterwards appear, that his penfion having been given to him as a literary character, he had been applied to by administration to write political pamphlets; and he was even fo much irritated, that he delared his refolution to refign his penfion. His friend fhewed him the impropriety of fuch a measure, and he afterwards expreffed his gratitude, and faid he had received good advice. To that friend he once fignified a wish to have his penfion fecured to him for his life; but he neither asked nor received from government any reward whatsoever for his political labours.

On Friday, March 24, I met him at the LITERARY CLUB, where were Mr. Beauclerk, Mr. Langton, Mr. Colman, Dr. Percy, Mr. Vesey, Sir Charles Bunbury, Dr. George Fordyce, Mr. Stcevens, and Mr. Charles Fox. Before he came in, we talked of his "Journey to the Western Islands," and of his coming away, "willing to believe the fecond fight," which feemed to excite fome ridicule. I was then fo impreffed with the truth of many of the ftories of it which I had been told, that I avowed my conviction, saying, "He is only willing to believe, I do believe. The evidence is enough for me, though not for his great mind. What will not fill a quart bottle will fill a pint bottle. I am filled with belief.” "Are you? (faid Colman,) then cork it up."

I found his "Journey" the common topick of converfation in London at this time, wherever I happened to be. At one of Lord Mansfield's formal Sunday evening converfations, ftrangely called Levées, his Lordship addreffed me, "We have all been reading your travels, Mr. Bofwell." I answered, "I was but the humble attendant of Dr. Johnfon." The Chief Juftice replied, with that air and manner which none, who ever faw and heard him, can forget, "He fpeaks ill of nobody but Offian.”

2 Johnfon's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland," edit. 1785, p. 256.

Johnfon

1775.

Etat. 66.

Johnson was in high spirits this evening at the club, and talked with great animation and fuccess. He attacked Swift, as he used to do upon all occafions. "The Tale of a Tub' is fo much fuperiour to his other writings, that one can hardly believe he was the authour of it. There is in it fuch a vigour of mind, fuch a fwarm of thoughts, fo much of nature, and art, and life." I wondered to hear him fay of "Gulliver's Travels," "When once you have thought of big men and little men, it is very easy to do all the rest.” I endeavoured to make a stand for Swift, and tried to roufe those who were much more able to defend him; but in vain. Johnfon at laft of his own accord allowed very great merit to the inventory of articles found in the pockets of the Man Mountain, particularly the description of his watch, which it was conjectured was his GOD, as he confulted it upon all occafions. He obferved, that "Swift put his name to but two things, (after he had a name to put,) The Plan for the Improvement of the English Language,' and the laft Drapier's Letter."

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From Swift, there was an eafy transition to Mr. Thomas Sheridan.— JOHNSON. "Sheridan is a wonderful admirer of the tragedy of Douglas, and prefented its authour with a gold medal. Some years ago, at a coffee-house in Oxford, I called to him, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Sheridan, how came you to give a gold medal to Home, for writing that foolish play? This, you see, was wanton and infolent; but I meant to be wanton and infolent. A medal has no value but as a stamp of merit. And was Sheridan to affume to himself the right of giving that stamp? If Sheridan was magnificent enough to bestow a gold medal as an honorary reward of dramatick excellence, he should have requested one of the Universities to choose the perfon on whom it should be conferred. Sheridan had no right to give a stamp of merit: it was counterfeiting Apollo's coin."

On Monday, March 27, I breakfasted with him at Mr. Strahan's. He told us, that he was engaged to go that evening to Mrs. Abington's benefit. "She was visiting fome ladies whom I was visiting, and begged that I would come to her benefit. I told her I could not hear: but fhe infifted fo much on my coming, that it would have been brutal to have refused her." This was a fpeech quite characteristical. He loved to bring forward his having been in the gay circles of life; and he was, perhaps, a little vain of the folicitations of this elegant and fashionable actress. He told us, the play was to be "The Hypocrite," altered from Cibber's "Nonjuror," fo as to fatyrize the Methodists. "I do not think (faid he,) the character of the Hypocrite juftly applicable to the Methodifts; but it was very applicable to the Nonjurors.

I once faid to Dr. Madan, a clergyman of Ireland, who was a great Whig, that perhaps a Nonjuror would have been lefs criminal in taking the oaths imposed by the ruling power, than refufing them; because refufing them, neceffarily laid him under almost an irresistible temptation to be more criminal; for, a man must live, and if he precludes himself from the fupport furnished by the establishment, will probably be reduced to very wicked shifts to maintain himself." BOSWELL. "I fhould think, Sir, that a man who took the oaths contrary to his principles, was a determined wicked man, because he was fure he was committing perjury: whereas a Nonjuror might be infenfibly led to do what was wrong, without being fo directly confcious of it." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, a man who goes to bed to his patron's wife is pretty fure that he is committing wickedness." BOSWELL. "Did the nonjuring clergymen do so, Sir? JOHNSON. "I am afraid many of them did.”

I was startled at his argument, and could by no means think it convincing. Had not his own father complied with the requifition of government, (as to which he once obferved to me, when I preffed him upon it, "That, Sir, he was to fettle with himself,") he would probably have thought more unfavourably of a Jacobite who took the oaths:

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This was not merely a curfory remark; for in his Life of Fenton he obferves, " With many other wife and virtuous men, who at that time of difcord and debate [about the beginning of this century,] confulted confcience well or ill informed, more than intereft, he doubted the legality of the government; and refufing to qualify himself for publick employment, by taking the oaths required, left the University without a degree." This conduct, Johnson calls "perverfenefs of integrity."

The queftion concerning the morality of taking oaths, of whatever kind, imposed by the prevailing power at the time, rather than to be excluded from all confequence, or even any confiderable usefulness in society, has been agitated with all the acuteness of cafuiftry. It is related, that he who devised the oath of abjuration, profligately boasted, that he had framed a teft which should damn one half of the nation, and starve the other. Upon minds not exalted to inflexible rectitude, or minds in which zeal for a party is predominant to excefs, taking that oath against conviction, may have been palliated under the plea of neceffity, or ventured upon in heat, as upon the whole producing more good than evil.

At a county election in Scotland, many years ago, when there was a warm contest between the friends of the Hanoverian fucceffion and those against it, the oath of abjuration having been demanded, the freeholders upon one fide rofe to go away. Upon which a very fanguine gentleman, one of their number, ran to the door to stop them, calling out with much earneftnefs, "Stay, stay, my friends, and let us fwear the rogues out of it!"

1775.

d. Ætat. 66.

Mr.

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