viii. 274), speaks of Spence as 'a man whose learning was not very

great, and whose mind was not very powerful. His criticism, however, was commonly just; what he thought he thought rightly; and his remarks were recommended by his coolness and candour.' See _ante_, iv. 9, 63.

[855] 'She was the only interpreter of Erse poetry that I could ever find.' Johnson's _Works_, ix. 134. See _ante_, p. 241.

[856] 'After a journey difficult and tedious, over rocks naked and valleys untracked, through a country of barrenness and solitude, we came, almost in the dark, to the sea-side, weary and dejected, having met with nothing but waters falling from the mountains that could raise any image of delight.' _Piozzi Letters_, i. 170. 'It is natural, in traversing this gloom of desolation, to inquire, whether something may not be done to give nature a more cheerful face.' Johnson's _Works_, ix. 136.

[857] _Ante_, p. 19.

[858] See _ante_, i. 521.

[859] See _ante_, p. 212.

[860] Sir William Blackstone says, in his _Commentaries_, that 'he cannot find that ever this custom prevailed in England;' and therefore he is of opinion that it could not have given rise to _Borough-English_. BOSWELL. 'I cannot learn that ever this custom prevailed in England, though it certainly did in Scotland (under the name of _mercketa_ or _marcheta_), till abolished by Malcolm III.' _Commentaries_, ed. 1778, ii. 83. Sir H. Maine, in his _Early History of Institutions_, p. 222, writes:--'Other authors, as Blackstone tells us, explained it ["Borough English"] by a supposed right of the Seigneur or lord, now very generally regarded as apocryphal, which raised a presumption of the eldest son's illegitimacy.'

[861] 'Macquarry was used to demand a sheep, for which he now takes a crown, by that inattention to the uncertain proportion between the value and the denomination of money, which has brought much disorder into Europe. A sheep has always the same power of supplying human wants, but a crown will bring, at one time more, at another less'. Johnson's _Works_, ix. 139.

[862] 'The house and the furniture are not always nicely suited. We were driven once, by missing a passage, to the hut of a gentleman, where, after a very liberal supper, when I was conducted to my chamber, I found an elegant bed of Indian cotton, spread with fine sheets. The accommodation was flattering; I undressed myself, and felt my feet in the mire. The bed stood upon the bare earth, which a long course of rain had softened to a puddle.' _Works_, ix. 98.

[863] Inchkenneth is a most beautiful little islet, of the most verdant green, while all the neighbouring shore of Greban, as well as the large islands of Colinsay and Ulva, are as black as heath and moss can make them. But Ulva has a good anchorage, and Inchkenneth is surrounded by shoals. It is now uninhabited. The ruins of the huts, in which Dr. Johnson was received by Sir Allan M'Lean, were still to be seen, and some tatters of the paper hangings were to be seen on the walls. Sir G. O. Paul was at Inchkenneth with the same party of which I was a member. [See Lockhart's _Scott_, ed. 1839, iii. 285.] He seemed to suspect many of the Highland tales which he heard, but he showed most incredulity on the subject of Johnson's having been entertained in the wretched huts of which we saw the ruins. He took me aside, and conjured me to tell him the truth of the matter. 'This Sir Allan,' said he, 'was he a _regular baronet_, or was his title such a traditional one as you find in Ireland?' I assured my excellent acquaintance that, 'for my own part, I would have paid more respect to a knight of Kerry, or knight of Glynn; yet Sir Allan M'Lean was a _regular baronet_ by patent;' and, having giving him this information, I took the liberty of asking him, in return, whether he would not in conscience prefer the worst cell in the jail at Gloucester (which he had been very active in overlooking while the building was going on) to those exposed hovels where Johnson had been entertained by rank and beauty. He looked round the little islet, and allowed Sir Allan had some advantage in exercising ground; but in other respects he thought the compulsory tenants of Gloucester had greatly the advantage. Such was his opinion of a place, concerning which Johnson has recorded that 'it wanted little which palaces could afford.' WALTER SCOTT.

[864] 'Sir Allan's affairs are in disorder by the fault of his ancestors, and while he forms some scheme for retrieving them he has retreated hither.' _Piozzi Letters_ i. 172.

[865] By Francis Gastrell, Bishop of Chester, published in 1707.

[866] _Travels through different cities of Germany, &c.,_, by Alexander Drummond. Horace Walpole, on April 24, 1754 (_Letters_, ii. 381), mentions 'a very foolish vulgar book of travels, lately published by one Drummond, consul at Aleppo.'

[867] _ Physico-Theology; or a Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God from his Works of Creation._ By William Derham, D.D., 1713. Voltaire, in _Micromégas,_ ch. I, speaking of 'l'illustre vicaire Derham' says:--'Malheureusement, lui et ses imitateurs se trompent souvent dans l'exposition de ces merveilles; ils s'extasient sur la sagesse qui se montre dans l'ordre d'un phénomène et on découvre que ce phénomène est tout différent de ce qu'ils ont supposé; alors c'est ce nouvel ordre qui leur paraît un chef d'oeuvre de sagesse.'

[868] This work was published in 1774. Johnson said on March 20, 1776 (_ante_, ii. 447), 'that he believed Campbell's disappointment on account of the bad success of that work had killed him.'

[869] Johnson said of Campbell:--'I am afraid he has not been in the inside of a church for many years; but he never passes a church without pulling off his hat. This shows that he has good principles.' _Ante_, i. 418.

[870] _New horse-shoeing Husbandry_, by Jethro Tull, 1733.

[871] 'He owned he sometimes talked for victory.' _Ante_, iv. 111, and v. 17.

[872] 'They said that a great family had a _bard_ and a _senachi_, who were the poet and historian of the house; and an old gentleman told me that he remembered one of each. Here was a dawn of intelligence.... Another conversation informed me that the same man was both bard and senachi. This variation discouraged me.... Soon after I was told by a gentleman, who is generally acknowledged the greatest master of Hebridian antiquities, that there had, indeed, once been both bards and senachies; and that _senachi_ signified _the man of talk_, or of conversation; but that neither bard nor senachi had existed for some centuries.' Johnson's _Works_, ix. 109.

[873] See _ante_, iii. 41, 327

[874] 'Towards evening Sir Allan told us that Sunday never passed over him like another day. One of the ladies read, and read very well, the evening service;--"and Paradise was opened in the wild."' _Piozzi Letters_, i. 173. The quotation is from Pope's _Eloisa to Abelard_,