when upon any occafion Johnson had been rough to any perfon in company, he took the first opportunity of reconciliation, by drinking to him or addreff ing his discourse to him; but if he found his dignified indirect overtures fullenly neglected, he was quite indifferent, and confidered himself as having done all that he ought to do, and the other as now in the wrong. Being to fet out for Scotland on the 10th of November, I wrote to him at Streatham, begging that he would meet me in town on the 9th; but if this should be very inconvenient to him, I would go thither. His answer was as follows: "DEAR SIR, TO JAMES BOSWELL, Esq. "UPON balancing the inconveniencies of both parties, I find it will less incommode you to spend your night here, than me to come to town. I wish to see you, and am ordered by the lady of this house to invite you hither, Whether you can come or not, I fhall not have any occasion of writing to you again before your marriage, and therefore tell you now, that with great fincerity I wish you happiness. I am, dear Sir, "Nov. 9, 1769. "Your moft affectionate humble fervant, SAM. JOHNSON." on the 9th, fo went to him I was detained in town till it was too late early in the morning of the tenth of October. are going to marry, do not expect more from life, may often find yourself out of humour, and you may often think your wife not studious enough to please you; and yet you may have reason to confider yourself as upon the whole very happily married." Talking of marriage in general, he obferved, "Our marriage fervice is too refined. It is calculated only for the best kind of marriages; whereas, we should have a form for matches of convenience, of which there are many.' He agreed with me that there was no abfolute neceffity for having the marriage ceremony performed by a regular clergyman, for this was not commanded in fcripture, I was volatile enough to repeat to him a little epigrammatick fong of mine, on matrimony, which Mr. Garrick had a few days before procured to be fet to mufick. 1769. Etat. 60. 1769. Etat. 60. 1770 A MATRIMONIAL THOUGHT. But now my kitten's grown a cat, I fear fhe has nine lives. My illuftrious friend faid, "It is very well, Sir; but you should not. swear." He was fo good as to accompany me to London, and fee me into the postchaife which was to carry me on my road to Scotland. And fure I am, that however inconfiderable many of the particulars recorded at this time may appear to fome, they will be esteemed by the best part of my readers as genuine traits of his character, contributing together to give a full, fair, and diftinct view of it. In 1770 he published a political pamphlet, entitled "The False Alarm,” intended to justify the conduct of ministry and their majority in the House of Commons, for having virtually affumed it as an axiom, that the expulfion of a Member of Parliament was equivalent to exclusion, and thus having declared Colonel Lutterel to be duly elected for the county of Middlesex, notwithstanding Mr. Wilkes had a great majority of votes. This being juftly confidered as a grofs violation of the right of election, an alarm for the conftitution extended itself all over the kingdom. To prove this alarm to be false, was the purpose of Johnson's pamphlet; but even his vaft powers were inadequate to cope with conftitutional truth and reason, and his argument failed of effect; and the House of Commons have fince expunged the offenfive refolution from their Journals. That the Houfe of Commons might have expelled Mr. Wilkes repeatedly, and as often as he should be re-chosen, was not denied; but incapacitation cannot be but by an act of the whole legislature. It was wonderful to fee how a prejudice in favour of government in general, and an averfion to popular clamour, could blind and contract fuch 1770. fuch an understanding as Johnson's, in this particular cafe; yet the wit, the farcafm, the eloquent vivacity which this pamphlet difplayed, made it be Etat. 61. read with great avidity at the time, and it will ever be read with pleasure, for the fake of its compofition. That it endeavoured to infufe a narcotick indifference, as to publick concerns, into the minds of the people, and that it broke out fometimes into an extreme coarfenefs of contemptuous abuse, is but too evident. It must not, however, be omitted, that when the storm of his violence fubfides, he takes a fair opportunity to pay a grateful compliment to the King, who had rewarded his merit: "Thefe low-born rulers have endeavoured, furely without effect, to alienate the affections of the people from the only King who for almost a century has much appeared to defire, or much endeavoured to deserve them." And, "Every honest man must lament, that the faction has been regarded with frigid neutrality by the Tories, who being long accuftomed to signalise their principles by oppofition to the Court, do not yet confider, that they have at last a King who knows not the name of who wishes to be the common father of all his people." party, and To this pamphlet, which was at once difcovered to be Johnson's, several anfwers came out, in which, care was taken to remind the publick of his former attacks upon government, and of his now being a penfioner, without allowing for the honourable terms upon which Johnson's penfion was granted and accepted, or the change of fyftem which the British court had undergone upon the acceffion of his present Majefty. He was, however, soothed in the highest strain of panegyrick, in a poem called "The Remonftrance," by the Reverend Mr. Stockdale, to whom he was, upon many occasions, a kind. protector. The following admirable minute made by him, defcribes fo well his own state, and that of numbers to whom felf-examination is habitual, that I cannot omit it: June 1, 1770. Every man naturally perfuades himself that he can keep his resolutions, nor is he convinced of his imbecillity but by length of time and frequency of experiment. This opinion of our own conftancy is so prevalent, that we always despise him who fuffers his general and fettled purpose to be overpowered by an occafional defire. They, therefore, whom frequent failures have made defperate, ceafe to form refolutions; and they who are become cunning, do not tell them. Those who do not make them are very few, but of their effect little is perceived; for scarcely any man perfifts in a courfe of 1770. life planned by choice, but as he is reftrained from deviation by fome exterEtat. 61. nal power. He who may live as he will, feldom lives long in the observation of his own rules"." Of this year I have obtained the following letters: of SIR, To the Reverend Dr. FARMER, Cambridge. "AS no man ought to keep wholly to himself any poffeffion that may be useful to the publick, I hope you will not think me unreasonably intrusive, if I have recourse to you for such information as you are more able to give me than any other man. "In support of an opinion which you have already placed above the need of any more fupport, Mr. Steevens, a very ingenious gentleman, lately of King's College, has collected an account of all the tranflations which Shakspeare might have seen and used. He wishes his catalogue to be perfect, and therefore intreats that you will favour him by the infertion of fuch additions as the accuracy of your inquiries has enabled you to make. To this request, I take the liberty of adding my own folicitation. "We have no immediate ufe for this catalogue, and therefore do not defire that it fhould interrupt or hinder your more important employments. But it will be kind to let us know that you receive it. "THE readiness with which you were pleafed to promise me fome notes on Shakspeare, was a new inftance of your friendship. I fhall not hurry you; but am desired by Mr. Steevens, who helps me in this edition, to let you know, that we fhall print the tragedies first, and shall therefore want first the notes which belong to them. We think not to incommode the readers with a supplement; and therefore, what we cannot put into its proper place, 6 Prayers and Meditations, p. 95. will will do us no good. We fhall not begin to print before the end of fix weeks, perhaps not so soon. 1770. Ætat. 61. "I am, &c. "London, June 23, 1770. SAM. JOHNSON." "DEAR SIR, To the Reverend Dr. JOSEPH WARTON. "I AM revifing my edition of Shakspeare, and remember that I formerly misrepresented your opinion of Lear. Be pleased to write the paragraph as you would have it, and send it. If you have any remarks of your own upon that or any other play, I fhall gladly receive them. "Make my compliments to Mrs. Warton. I fometimes think of wandering for a few days to Winchester, but am apt to delay. I am, Sir, "Your most humble fervant, To Mr. FRANCIS BARBER, at Mrs. CLAPP's, Bishop-Stortford, Hertfordshire. "DEAR FRANCIS, "I AM at last fat down to write to you, and fhould very much blame myself for having neglected you fo long, if I did not impute that and many other failings to want of health. I hope not to be so long filent again. I am very well satisfied with your progrefs, if you can really perform the exercises which you are fet; and I hope Mr. Ellis does not suffer you to impose on him, or on yourself. "Make my compliments to Mr. Ellis, and to Mrs. Clapp, and Mr. Smith. "Let me know what English books you read for your entertainment. You can never be wife unless you love reading. "Do not imagine that I fhall forget or forfake you; for if, when I examine you, I find that you have not loft your time, you fhall want no encouragement from "Yours affectionately, London, Sept 25, 1770. SAM. JOHNSON." To |