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Etat. 66.

and his Fingals and Ofcars, amongst the nursery tales, not the true history of Our country, in all time to come.

"Upon the whole, the book cannot displease, for it has no pretenfions. The authour neither fays he is a geographer, nor an antiquarian, nor very learned in the hiftory of Scotland, nor a naturalift, nor a foffilift. The manners of the people, and the face of the country, are all he attempts to describe, or feems to have thought of. Much were it to be wifhed, that they who have travelled into more remote, and of courfe more curious regions, had all posfeffed his good fenfe. Of the state of learning, his obfervations on Glasgow University shew he has formed a very found judgement. He understands our climate too; and he has accurately obferved the changes, however flow and imperceptible to us, which Scotland has undergone, in confequence of the bleffings of liberty and internal peace."

Mr. Knox, another native of Scotland, who has fince made the fame tour, and published an account of it, is equally liberal. "I have read (fays he,) his book again and again, travelled with him from Berwick to Glenelg, through countries with which I am well acquainted; failed with him from Glenelg to Rafay, Sky, Rum, Col, Mull, and Icolmkill, but have not been able to correct him in any matter of confequence. I have often admired the accuracy, the precifion, and the juftness of what he advances, respecting both the country and the people.

in

"The Doctor has every where delivered his fentiments with freedom, and many instances with a feeming regard for the benefit of the inhabitants, and the ornament of the country. His remarks on the want of trees and hedges for fhade, as well as for fhelter to the cattle, are well founded, and merit the thanks, not the illiberal cenfure of the natives. He alfo felt for the diftreffes of the Highlanders, and explodes, with great propriety, the bad management of the grounds, and the neglect of timber in the Hebrides."

Having quoted Johnfon's just compliments on the Rafay family, he says, "On the other hand, I found this family equally lavish in their encomiums upon the Doctor's converfation, and his fubfequent civilities to a young gentleman of that country, who, upon waiting upon him at London, was well received, and experienced all the attention and regard that a warm friend could. bestow. Mr. Macleod having alfo been in London, waited upon the Doctor, who provided a magnificent and expensive entertainment, in honour of his old Hebridean acquaintance."

And

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And talking of the military road by Fort Auguftus, he fays, "By this road, though one of the most rugged in Great-Britain, the celebrated Dr. Johnfon tat. 66. paffed from Inverness to the Hebride Ifles. His obfervations on the country and people are extremely correct, judicious, and instructive"."

His private letters to Mrs. Thrale, written during the courfe of his journey, which therefore may be fuppofed to convey his genuine feelings at the time, abound in fuch benignant fentiments towards the people who fhewed him civilities, that no man whofe temper is not very harsh and four, can retain a doubt of the goodness of his heart.

8

It is painful to recollect with what rancour he was affailed by numbers of fhallow irritable North-Britons, on account of his fuppofed injurious treatment of their country and countrymen, in his " Journey." Had there been any juft ground for fuch a charge, would the virtuous and candid Dempster have given his opinion of the book, in the terms which I have quoted? Would the patriotick Knox have spoken of it as he has done? And let me add, that, citizen of the world as I hold myself to be, I have that degree of predilection for my natale folum, nay, I have that just sense of the merit of an ancient nation, which has been ever renowned for its valour, which in former times maintained its independence against a powerful neighbour, and in modern times has been equally diftinguifhed for its ingenuity and industry in civilised life, that I should have felt a generous indignation at any injuftice done to it. Johnson. treated Scotland no worse than he did even his best friends, whofe characters he used to give as they appeared to him, both in light and fhade. Some people, who had not exercised their minds fufficiently, condemned him for cenfuring his friends. But Sir Joshua Reynolds, whose philofophical penetration and justness of thinking are not lefs known to those who live with him, than his genius in his art is admired by the world, explained his conduct thus: "He: was fond of difcrimination, which he could not fhew without pointing out the bad as well as the good in every character; and as his friends were those whose characters he knew beft, they afforded him the best opportunity for fhewing the acutenefs of his judgement."

He expreffed to his friend Mr. Windham of Norfolk, his wonder at the extreme jealoufy of the Scotch, and their resentment at having their country defcribed by him as it really was; when, to say that it was a country as good

7 Page 103.

3. I obferve with much regret, while this work is paffing through the prefs, (Auguft, 1790,) that this ingenious gentleman is dead.

as

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as England, would have been a grofs falfehood. "None of us, (faid he,) Etat. 66. would be offended if a foreigner who has travelled here should fay, that vines and olives don't grow in England." And as to his prejudice against the Scotch, which I always afcribed to that nationality which he obferved in them, he faid to the fame gentleman, "When I find a Scotchman to whom an Englishman is as a Scotchman, that Scotchman shall be as an Englishman to His intimacy with many gentlemen of Scotland, and his employing fo many natives of that country as his amanuenfes, prove that his prejudice was not virulent; and I have deposited in the British Museum, amongst other pieces of his writing, the following note, in answer to one from me, asking if he would meet me at dinner at the Mitre, though a friend of mine, a Scotchman, was to be there :-" Mr. Johnson does not fee why Mr. Boswell fhould fuppofe a Scotchman lefs acceptable than any other man. He will be at the Mitre."

My much-valued friend Dr. Barnard, now Bishop of Killaloe, having once expreffed to him an apprehenfion, that if he should visit Ireland he might treat the people of that country more unfavourably than he had done the Scotch, he answered, with strong pointed double-edged wit, " Sir, you have no reason to be afraid of me. The Irish are not in a confpiracy to cheat the world by false representations of the merits of their countrymen. No, Sir; the Irish are a FAIR PEOPLE:-they never fpeak well of one another."

Johnson told me an inftance of Scottish nationality, which made a very unfavourable impreffion upon his mind. A Scotchman, of fome confideration in London, folicited him to recommend, by the weight of his learned authority, to be master of an English school, a perfon of whom he who recommended him confeffed he knew no more but that he was his countryman. Johnfon was fhocked at this unconfcientious conduct.

All the miferable cavillings against his "Journey," in newfpapers, magazines, and other fugitive publications, I can fpeak from certain knowledge, only furnished him with fport. At last there came out a fcurrilous volume, larger than Johnson's own, filled with malignant abuse, under a name, real or fictitious, of fome low man in an obfcure corner of Scotland, though fuppofed to be the work of another Scotchman, who has found means to make himself well known both in Scotland and England. The effect which it had upon Johnson was, to produce this pleasant obfervation to Mr. Seward, to whom he lent the book: "This fellow must be a blockhead. They don't know how to go about their abufe. Who will read a five fhilling book against me? No, Sir, if they had wit, they fhould have kept pelting me with pamphlets."

Mr.

1

Mr. BOSWELL to Dr. JOHNSON.

Edinburgh, Feb. 18, 1775.

"YOU would have been very well pleafed if you had dined with me to day. I had for my guests, Macquharrie, young Maclean of Col, the fucceffor of our friend, a very amiable man, though not marked with fuch active qualities as his brother, Mr. Maclean of Torloisk in Mull a gentleman of Sir Allan's family, and two of the clan Grant, fo that the Highland and Hebridean genius reigned. We had a great deal of conversation about you, and drank your health in a bumper. The toaft was not propofed by me, which is a circumftance to be remarked, for I am now fo connected with you, that any thing that I can fay or do to your honour has not the value of an additional compliment. It is only giving you a guinea out of that treasure of admiration which already belongs to you, and which is no hidden treasure; for I fuppofe my admiration of you is co-exiftent with the knowledge of my character.

"I find that the Highlanders and Hebrideans in general are much fonder. of your Journey,' than the low-country or hither Scots. One of the Grants faid to day, that he was fure you were a man of a good heart, and a candid. man, and feemed to hope he should be able to convince you of the antiquity of a good proportion of the poems of Offian. After all that has paffed, I think the matter is capable of being proved to a certain degree. I am told that Macpherfon got one old Erfe MS. from Clanranald, for the reftitution of which he executed a formal obligation; and it is affirmed, that the Gaelick (call it Erfe or call it Irish,) has been written in the Highlands and Hebrides for many centuries. It is reafonable to fuppofe, that fuch of the inhabitants as acquired any learning, poffeffed the art of writing as well as their Irifh neighbours and Celtick coufins; and the question is, can fufficient evidence be. fhewn of this?

"Those who are skilled in ancient writings can determine the age of MSS. or at least can afcertain the century in which they were written; and if men of veracity, who are fo fkilled, fhall tell us that MSS. in the poffeffion of families in the Highlands and ifles, are the works of a remote age, I think we should be convinced by their testimony.

"There is now come to this city, Ranald Macdonald, from the Isle of Egg, who has several MSS. of Erfe poetry, which he wishes to publish by fubfcription. I have engaged to take three copies of the book, the price of

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which is to be fix fhillings, as I would fubfcribe for all the Erfe that can be Etat. 66. printed, be it old or new, that the language may be preserved. This man fays, that fome of his manufcripts are ancient; and, to be fure, one of them which was fhewn to me does appear to have the duskynefs of antiquity.

*

"The inquiry is not yet quite hopeless, and I fhould think that the exact truth may be difcovered, if proper means be used. I am, &c.

"I AM forry that I could get no books for my friends in Scotland. Mr. Strahan has at last promised to fend two dozen to you. If they come, put the names of my friends into them; you may cut them out?, and paste them with a little ftarch in the book.

"You then are going wild about Offian. Why do you think any part can be proved? The dufky manufcript of Egg is probably not fifty years old; if it be an hundred, it proves nothing. The tale of Clanranald has no proof. Has Clanranald told it? Can he prove it? There are, I believe, no Erfe manuscripts. None of the old families had a single letter in Erfe that we heard of. You fay it is likely that they could write. The learned, if any learned there were, could; but knowing by that learning fome written language, in that language they wrote, as letters had never been applied to their own. If there are manuscripts, let them be fhewn, with fome proof that they are not forged for the occafion. You say many can remember parts of Offian. I believe all those parts are verfions of the English, at least there is no proof of their antiquity.

"Macpherson is faid to have made fome tranflations himfelf; and having taught a boy to write it, ordered him to fay that he had learned it of his grandmother. The boy, when he grew up, told the ftory. This Mrs. Williams heard at Mr. Strahan's table. Do not be credulous; you know how little a Highlander can be trufted. Macpherson is, fo far as I know, very quiet. Is not that proof enough? Every thing is against him. No vifible manuscript; no inscription in the language: no correfpondence among friends: no tranfaction of business, of which a fingle fcrap remains in the ancient families. Macpherson's pretence is, that the character was Saxon. If he had not talked

From a lift in his hand-writing.

unskilfully