Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 103

Edited by Dan Leo, LL.D, Associate Professor of Johnsonian Studies; Assistant Horseshoes Team Coach, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of the Importunate Highwayman, the Olney Community College Press.

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During his stay at Edinburgh, after his return from the Hebrides, he was at great pains to obtain information concerning Scotland; and it will appear from his subsequent letters, that he was not less solicitous for intelligence on this subject after his return to London. 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'I came home last night, without any incommodity, danger, or weariness, and am ready to begin a new journey. I shall go to Oxford on Monday. I know Mrs. Boswell wished me well to go; her wishes have not been disappointed. Mrs. Williams has received Sir A's letter. 'Make my compliments to all those to whom my compliments may be welcome.  'Let the box be sent as soon as it can, and let me know when to expect it.  'Enquire, if you can, the order of the Clans: Macdonald is first, Maclean second; further I cannot go.  'I am, Sir, 'Yours affectionately, 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'Nov. 27, 1773.' 'MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON. 'Edinburgh, Dec. 2, 1773. 'You shall have what information I can procure as to the order of the Clans. A gentleman of the name of Grant tells me, that there is no settled order among them; and he says, that the Macdonalds were not placed upon the right of the army at Culloden; the Stuarts were. I shall, however, examine witnesses of every name that I can find here. I like your little memorandums; they are symptoms of your being in earnest with your book of northern travels. 'Your box shall be sent next week by sea. You will find in it some pieces of the broom bush, which you saw growing on the old castle of Auchinleck. The wood has a curious appearance when sawn across. You may either have a little writing-stand made of it, or get it formed into boards for a treatise on witchcraft, by way of a suitable binding.'  * * * * * His humane forgiving disposition was put to a pretty strong test on his return to London, by a liberty which Mr. Thomas Davies had taken with him in his absence, which was, to publish two volumes, entitled, Miscellaneous and fugitive Pieces, which he advertised in the news-papers, 'By the Authour of the Rambler.' In this collection, several of Dr. Johnson's acknowledged writings, several of his anonymous performances, and some which he had written for others, were inserted; but there were also some in which he had no concern whatever. He was at first very angry, as he had good reason to be. But, upon consideration of his poor friend's narrow circumstances, and that he had only a little profit in view, and meant no harm, he soon relented, and continued his kindness to him as formerly. In the course of his self-examination with retrospect to this year, he seems to have been much dejected; for he says, January 1, 1774, 'This year has passed with so little improvement, that I doubt whether I have not rather impaired than increased my learning';and yet we have seen how he read, and we know how he talked during that period. He was now seriously engaged in writing an account of our travels in the Hebrides, in consequence of which I had the pleasure of a more frequent correspondence with him. 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'My operations have been hindered by a cough; at least I flatter myself, that if my cough had not come, I should have been further advanced. But I have had no intelligence from Dr. W——, [Webster,] nor from the Excise-office, nor from you. No account of the little borough. Nothing of the Erse language. I have yet heard nothing of my box. 'You must make haste and gather me all you can, and do it quickly, or I will and shall do without it. 'Make my compliments to Mrs. Boswell, and tell her that I do not love her the less for wishing me away. I gave her trouble enough, and shall be glad, in recompense, to give her any pleasure. 'I would send some porter into the Hebrides, if I knew which way it could be got to my kind friends there. Enquire, and let me know. 'Make my compliments to all the Doctors of Edinburgh, and to all my friends, from one end of Scotland to the other.  'Write to me, and send me what intelligence you can: and if any thing is too bulky for the post, let me have it by the carrier. I do not like trusting winds and waves. 'I am, dear Sir, 'Your most, &c. 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'Jan. 29, 1774. 'To THE SAME.  'DEAR SIR,  'In a day or two after I had written the last discontented letter, I received my box, which was very welcome. But still I must entreat you to hasten Dr. Webster, and continue to pick up what you can that may be useful.  'Mr. Oglethorpe was with me this morning, you know his errand. He was not unwelcome.  'Tell Mrs. Boswell that my good intentions towards her still continue. I should be glad to do any thing that would either benefit or please her. 'Chambers is not yet gone, but so hurried, or so negligent, or so proud, that I rarely see him. I have, indeed, for some weeks past, been very ill of a cold and cough, and have been at Mrs. Thrale's, that I might be taken care of. I am much better; but I am yet tender, and easily disordered. How happy it was that neither of us were ill in the Hebrides. 'I will write to you as any thing occurs, and do you send me something about my Scottish friends. I have very great kindness for them.   'I am. Sir,  Yours affectionately,  SAM. JOHNSON.  London, Feb. 7, 1774. He at this time wrote the following letters to Mr. Steevens, his able associate in editing Shakspeare:  To George Steevens, Esq., in Hampstead. 'Sir, 'If I am asked when I have seen Mr. Steevens, you know what answer I must give; if I am asked when I shall see him, I wish you would tell me what to say.  'If you have Lesley's History of Scotland, or any other book about Scotland, except Boetius and Buchanan, it will be a kindness if you send them to, Sir, 'Your humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.  'Feb. 7, 1774.' To the same. 'Sir, 'We are thinking to augment our club, and I am desirous of nominating you, if you care to stand the ballot, and can attend on Friday nights at least twice in five weeks: less than this is too little, and rather more will be expected. Be pleased to let me know before Friday. 'I am, Sir,  'Your most, &c.,  'SAM. JOHNSON.  'Feb. 21, 1774. To the same. 'Sir, 'Last night you became a member of the club; if you call on me on Friday, I will introduce you. A gentleman, proposed after you, was rejected.  'I am, Sir,  'Your humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'March 5, 1774.' 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.  'DEAR SIR,  'Chambers is either married, or almost married, to Miss Wilton, a girl of sixteen, exquisitely beautiful, whom he has, with his lawyer's tongue, persuaded to take her chance with him in the East. 'We have added to the club, Charles Fox, Sir Charles Bunbury, Dr. Fordyce, and Mr. Steevens.  'Return my thanks to Dr. Webster. Tell Dr. Robertson I have not much to reply to his censure of my negligence; and tell Dr. Blair, that since he has written hither what I said to him, we must now consider ourselves as even, forgive one another, and begin again. I care not how soon, for he is a very pleasing man. Pay my compliments to all my friends, and remind Lord Elibank of his promise to give me all his works.  'I hope Mrs. Boswell and little Miss are well.— When shall I see them again? She is a sweet lady, only she was so glad to see me go, that I have almost a mind to come again, that she may again have the same pleasure.  'Enquire if it be practicable to send a small present of a cask of porter to Dunvegan, Rasay, and Col. I would not wish to be thought forgetful of civilities.  'I am, Sir, 'Your humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'March 5, 1774.' (This series is made possible in part through a generous endowment from the Bob’s Bowery Bar™ Foundation for the Uncommercial Arts: “Finding yourself alone in the big city this holiday season? Why not stop in at Bob’s Bowery Bar, open as usual from 7am to 4am both Christmas Eve day and Christmas, and serving for those two days only: Bob's Mom’s Special Christmas Dinner: free-range turkey (your choice of ‘dark’ or ‘light’) swimming in our proprietary bock beer gravy, with homemade organic cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and steamed or fried ‘garden medley’ – all for only $3.95 a plate!” – Horace P. 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Selections from Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary: “W”

Edited by Dan Leo, LL.D., Assistant Professor of Demotic American Literature, Assistant Backgammon Club Coach, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of the Wounded Wombat; the Olney Community College Press.

Artwork personally supervised by rhoda penmarq for penmarqable productions™ (pencils, inks, colors and layout by roy dismas; lettering by eddie el greco).

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*** W, Is a letter of which the form is not to be found in the alphabets of the learned languages; though it is not improbable that by our w is expressed the sound of the Roman v, and the Eolick f. Both the form and sound are excluded from the languages derived from the Latin. *** To Waddle.   To shake, in walking from side to side; to deviate in motion from a right line. The strutting petticoat smooths and levels all distinctions; while I cannot but be troubled to see so many well-shaped, innocent virgins bloated up, and waddling up and down like big-bellied women.  Spectator, № 127. *** To Wade.  To walk through the waters; to pass water without swimming. We'll wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood.  Sha. *** Wafer.  The bread given in the eucharist by the Romanists. That the same body of Christ should be in a thousand places at once; that the whole body should lie hid in a little thin wafer; yet so, that the members thereof should not one run into another, but continue distinct, and have an order agreeable to a man's body, it doth exceed reason.  Hall. *** Waggish.  Knavishly merry; merrily mischievous; frolicksome. A company of waggish boys watching of frogs at the side of a pond, still as any of them put up their heads, they would be pelting them down with stones. Children, says one of the frogs, you never consider, that though this may be play to you, 'tis death to us.  L'Estrange. **** To Wail.  To grieve audibly; to express sorrow. I will lwail and howl.  Mic. i. 8. **** Wassail. 1. A liquor made of apples, sugar, and ale, anciently much used by English goodfellows. 2. A drunken bout. The king doth wake to-night, and takes his rouse, Keeps wassail, and the swaggering upspring reels.  Shakesp. **** Water.   Sir Isaac Newton defines water, when pure, to be a very fluid salt, volatile, and void of all savour or taste; and it seems to consist of small, smooth, hard, porous, spherical particles, of equal diameters, and of equal specifick gravities, as Dr. Cheyne observes; and also that there are between them spaces so large, and ranged in such a manner, as to be pervious on all sides. Their smoothness accounts for their sliding easily over one another's surfaces: their sphericity keeps them also from touching one another in more points than one; and by both these their frictions in sliding over one another, is rendered the least possible. Their hardness accounts for the incompressibility of water, when it is free from the intermixture of air. The porosity of water is so very great, that there is at least forty times as much space as matter in it; for water is nineteen times specifically lighter than gold, and consequently rarer in the same proportion.  Quincy. **** Wave.  Water raised above the level of the surface; billow; water driven into inequalities. The wave behind impels the wave before.  Pope. **** Weapon.  Instrument of offence; something with which one is armed to hurt another.             Touch me with noble anger; O let not women’s weapons, water drops, Stain my man's cheeks.  Shakespeare's King Lear. **** Weasel.  A small animal that eats corn and kills mice. A weasel once made shift to slink In at a corn loft through a chink. Pope. **** Wench.  A young woman in contempt; a strumpet. Men have these ambitious fancies, And wanton wenches read romances.  Prior. **** Whig.  The name of a faction. Whoever has a true value for church and state, should avoid the extremes of whig for the sake of the former, and the extremes of tory on the account of the latter.  Swift. **** Witless.  Wanting understanding. Why then should witless man so much misween That nothing is but that which he hath seen?  Fairy Queen. **** Woman.  The female of the human race. That man who hath a tongue is no man, If with his tongue he cannot win a woman.  Shakespeare. **** World.  The earth; the terraqueous globe. He the world Built on circumfluous waters.  Milton's Paradise Lost. **** Wort.  New beer either unfermented, or in the act of fermentation. If in the wort of beer, while it worketh, before it be tunned, the burrage be often changed with fresh, it will make a sovereign drink for melancholy.  Bacon's Natural History. **** To Writhe.  To twist with violence. Then Satan first knew pain, And writh'd him to and fro convolv'd.  Milton's Parad. Lost. **** (Our illustrated adaptation of Boswell’s Life of Johnson will resume next week. Classix Comix is sponsored by Manhattan’s favorite watering hole – Bob’s Bowery Bar©: “Finding yourself in need of that extra little bit of holiday cheer during this festive season? Why not stop into Bob’s Bowery Bar – conveniently located on the northwest corner of Bleecker and the Bowery –and treat yourself to a steaming great tankard of ‘Bob’s Hearty Seaman’s Grog’, a mere buck a pint all this month – sorry, only four per customer, but believe me, four will do the job, and plenty!” – Horace P. Sternwall, your host of Bob’s Bowery Bar Presents Horace P. Sternwall's Tales of the Seven Seas, Wednesdays at 9pm, exclusively on the Dumont Television Network. "X,Y,Z"

Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 102

Edited by Dan Leo, LL.D, Associate Professor of Epistemological Studies; Assistant Women’s Skittles Team Coach, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of the Jolly Hangman, the Olney Community College Press.

Artwork and layout personally supervised by rhoda penmarq (pencils, inks, colors and CGI by eddie el greco; lettering by roy dismas) for penmarqable™ productions, ltd.

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He records of himself this year, 'Between Easter and Whitsuntide, having always considered that time as propitious to study, I attempted to learn the Low Dutch language.' It is to be observed, that he here admits an opinion of the human mind being influenced by seasons, which he ridicules in his writings. His progress, he says, was interrupted by a fever, 'which, by the imprudent use of a small print, left an inflammation in his useful eye.' We cannot but admire his spirit when we know, that amidst a complication of bodily and mental distress, he was still animated with the desire of intellectual improvement. In a letter from Edinburgh, dated the 29th of May, I pressed him to persevere in his resolution to make this year the projected visit to the Hebrides, of which he and I had talked for many years, and which I was confident would afford us much entertainment. 'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'When your letter came to me, I was so darkened by an inflammation in my eye, that I could not for some time read it. I can now write without trouble, and can read large prints. My eye is gradually growing stronger; and I hope will be able to take some delight in the survey of a Caledonian loch. 'Chambers is going a Judge, with six thousand a year, to Bengal. He and I shall come down together as far as Newcastle, and thence I shall easily get to Edinburgh. Let me know the exact time when your Courts intermit. I must conform a little to Chambers's occasions, and he must conform a little to mine. The time which you shall fix, must be the common point to which we will come as near as we can. Except this eye, I am very well. 'Beattie is so caressed, and invited, and treated, and liked, and flattered, by the great, that I can see nothing of him. I am in great hope that he will be well provided for, and then we will live upon him at the Marischal College, without pity or modesty. 'I hope your dear lady and her dear baby are both well. I shall see them too when I come; and I have that opinion of your choice, as to suspect that when I have seen Mrs. Boswell, I shall be less willing to go away. I am, dear Sir, 'Your affectionate humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'Johnson's-court, Fleet-street, July 5, 1773.'  'Write to me as soon as you can. Chambers is now at Oxford.' I again wrote to him, informing him that the Court of Session rose on the twelfth of August, hoping to see him before that time, and expressing perhaps in too extravagant terms, my admiration of him, and my expectation of pleasure from our intended tour. 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.  'DEAR SIR,  'I shall set out from London on Friday the sixth of this month, and purpose not to loiter much by the way. Which day I shall be at Edinburgh, I cannot exactly tell. I suppose I must drive to an inn, and send a porter to find you. 'I am afraid Beattie will not be at his College soon enough for us, and I shall be sorry to miss him; but there is no staying for the concurrence of all conveniences. We will do as well as we can. 'I am, Sir,  'Your most humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'August 3, 1773.' TO THE SAME. 'DEAR SIR, 'Not being at Mr . Thrale's when your letter came, I had written the enclosed paper and sealed it; bringing it hither for a frank, I found yours. If any thing could repress my ardour, it would be such a letter as yours. To disappoint a friend is unpleasing; and he that forms expectations like yours, must be disappointed. Think only when you see me, that you see a man who loves you, and is proud and glad that you love him.  'I am, Sir,  'Your most affectionate  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'August 3, 1773.' TO THE SAME.  'Newcastle, Aug. 11, 1771.  'DEAR SIR, 'I came hither last night, and hope, but do not absolutely promise, to be in Edinburgh on Saturday. Beattie will not come so soon.  I am, Sir,  'Your most humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'My compliments to your lady.' TO THE SAME. 'Mr. Johnson sends his compliments to Mr. Boswell, being just arrived at Boyd's,' 'Saturday night.' His stay in Scotland was from the 18th of August, on which day he arrived, till the 22nd of November, when he set out on his return to London; and I believe ninety-four days were never passed by any man in a more vigorous exertion. He came by the way of Berwick upon Tweed to Edinburgh, where he remained a few days, and then went by St. Andrew's, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Fort Augustus, to the Hebrides, to visit which was the principal object he had in view. He visited the isles of Sky, Rasay, Col, Mull, Inchkenneth, and Icolmkill. He travelled through Argyleshire by Inverary, and from thence by Lochlomond and Dumbarton to Glasgow, then by Loudon to Auchinleck in Ayrshire, the seat of my family, and then by Hamilton, back to Edinburgh, where he again spent some time. He thus saw the four Universities of Scotland, its three principal cities, and as much of the Highland and insular life as was sufficient for his philosophical contemplation. I had the pleasure of accompanying him during the whole of this journey. He was respectfully entertained by the great, the learned, and the elegant, wherever he went; nor was he less delighted with the hospitality which he experienced in humbler life.    His various adventures, and the force and vivacity of his mind, as exercised during this peregrination, upon innumerable topicks, have been faithfully, and to the best of my abilities, displayed in my Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, to which, as the publick has been pleased to honour it by a very extensive circulation, I beg leave to refer, as to a separate and remarkable portion of his life, which may be there seen in detail, and which exhibits as striking a view of his powers in conversation, as his works do of his excellence in writing. (This project is sponsored by Bob’s Bowery Bar™, conveniently located on the northwest corner of Bleecker and the Bowery: “Feeling a bit bleary and befuddled after a late Saturday night? 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