Dr. Johnson said there was nothing more contemptible than a country gentleman living beyond his income, and every year growing poorer and poorer. He spoke strongly of the influence which a man has by being rich. "A man," said he, "who keeps his money, has in reality more use from it than he can have by spending it." I observed that this looked very like a paradox; but he explained it thus: "If it were certain that a man would keep his money locked up for ever, to be sure he would have no influence; but, as so many want money, and he has the power of giving it, and they know not but by gaining his favour they may obtain it, the rich man will always have the greatest influence. He, again, who lavisher his money, is laughed at as foolish, and in a great degree with justice, considering how much is spent from vanity. Even those who partake of a man's hospitality have but a transient kindness for him. If he has not the command of money, people know he cannot help them if he would; whereas the rich man always can, if he will, and for the chance of that, will have much weight." BOSWELL. "But philosophers and satirists have all treated a miser as contemptible." JOHNSON. "He is so philosophically; but not in the practice of life. BOSWELL. "Let me see now: I do not know the England, so as to examine into their influence." JOHNSON. "We have had few misers in England.” BOSWELL. "There was Lowther." (1) Johnson.

instances of misers in

(1) He means, no doubt, Sir James Lowther, of Whitehaven, Bart., who died in 1755, immensely rich, but without issue, and bis estates devolved on his relation, Sir James, afterwards first Earl of Lonsdale.- C.

"Why, Sir, Lowther, by keeping his money, had the command of the county, which the family has now lost, by spending it. (1) I take it he lent a great deal; and that is the way to have influence, and yet preserve one's wealth. A man may lend money upon very good security, and yet have his debtor much under his power." BOSWELL "No doubt, Sir. He can always distress him for the money; as no man borrows who is able to pay on demand quite conveniently."

his

We dined at Elgin, and saw the noble ruins of the cathedral. Though it rained much, Dr. Johnson examined them with the most patient attention. He could not here feel any abhorrence at the Scottish reformers, for he had been told by Lord Hailes, that it was destroyed before the reformation, by the Lord of Badenoch (2), who had a

(1) I do not know what was at this time the state of the parliamentary interest of the ancient family of Lowther; a family before the conquest: but all the nation knows it to be very extensive at present. A due mixture of severity and kindness, economy and munificence, characterises its present representative.-B.-The second Viscount and first Earl Lonsdale of his branch, who was recommended to Boswell's peculiar favour by having married Lady Mary Stuart, the daughter of John Earl of Butc.-C.

(2) Note, by Lord Hailes. "The cathedral of Elgin was burnt by the Lord of Badenoch, because the Bishop of Moray had pronounced an award not to his liking. The indemnification that the see obtained was, that the Lord of Badenoch stood for three days barefooted at the great gate of the cathedral. The story is in the chartulary of Elgin.' BOSWELL.-Light as this penance was, an Irish chieftain fared still better. The eighth Earl of Kildare was charged before Henry VII. with having burned the cathedral of Cashel : he expressed his contrition for this sacrilege, adding, that he never would have done it had he not thought that the archbishop had been in it. The king made him lord-lieutenant. Mr. Chambers adds, that it is strange that Boswell should not have known, or that Lord Hailes

quarrel with the bishop. The bishop's house, and those of the other clergy, which are still pretty entire, do not seem to have been proportioned to the magnificence of the cathedral, which has been of great extent, and had very fine carved work. The ground within the walls of the cathedral is employed as a burying-place. The family of Gordon have their vault here; but it has nothing grand.

We passed Gordon Castle (1) this forenoon, which has a princely appearance. Fochabers, the neighbouring village, is a poor place, many of the houses being ruinous; but it is remarkable, they. have in general orchards well stored with appletrees. Elgin has what in England are called piazzas, that run in many places on each side of the street. It must have been a much better place formerly. Probably it had piazzas all along the town, as I have seen at Bologna. I approved much of such structures in a town, on account of their conveniency in wet weather. Dr. Johnson disapproved

should have failed to tell him, that the cathedral of Elgin had revived from the sacrilege of the Wolf of Badenoch, and its final ruin was accomplished by the cupidity of Murray, nick-named the good Regent, who stripped the lead from the roof, and shipped it to be sold in Holland; but the ship with its unhallowed freight sunk soon after it had left the harbour; so the cathedral was ruined, without any profit to the spoiler. — C.

(1) I am not sure whether the Duke was at home; but, not having the honour of being much known to his grace, I could not have presumed to enter his castle, though to introduce even so celebrated a stranger. We were at any rate in a hurry to get forward to the wildness which we came to see. Perhaps, if this noble family had still preserved that sequestered magnificence which they maintained when catholics, corresponding with the Grand Duke of Tuscany, we might have been induced to have procured proper letters of introduction, and devoted some time to the contemplation of venerable superstitious state.

of them, "because," said he, "it makes the under story of a house very dark, which greatly overbalances the conveniency, when it is consideren how small a part of the year it rains; how few are usually in the street at such times; that many who are might as well be at home; and the little that people suffer, supposing them to be as much wet as they commonly are in walking a street."

We fared but ill at our inn here; and Dr. Johnson said, this was the first time he had seen a dinner in Scotland that he could not eat.

In the afternoon, we drove over the very heath where Macbeth met the witches, according to tradition. (1) Dr. Johnson again solemnly re

peated

"How far is't call'd to Fores? What are these,

So wither'd, and so wild in their attire?

That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
And yet are on 't?"

He repeated a good deal more of Macbeth. His
recitation was grand and affecting, and, as Sir
Joshua Reynolds has observed to me, had no more
tone than it should have: it was the better for it.
He then parodied the "All hail" of the witches to
Macbeth, addressing himself to me.
I had pur-

(1) Mr. Macpherson, of Trinity College, Cambridge, observes on this passage, that "Boswell was quite mistaken in imagining that he saw the spot where Macbeth met the witches between Elgin and Fores. The true place is between Fores and Nairn. The "blasted heath " had been subsequently planted with trees, and when they were cut down some years ago, the late Laird of Brodie preserved a clump to mark the consecrated ground. The moor has been since replanted, but the older grove is still distinguishable from the rest of the wood. The locality of the scene has never been doubted, as far as I can learn."-C.

chased some land called Dalblair; and, as in Scotland it is customary to distinguish landed men by the name of their estates, I had thus two titles, Dalblair and young Auchinleck. So my friend, in imitation of

"All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!" condescended to amuse himself with uttering

"All hail, Dalblair! hail to thee, Laird of Auchinleck ! (1)

We got to Fores at night, and found an admirable inn, in which Dr. Johnson was pleased to meet with a landlord, who styled himself "Wine-Cooper, from London."

Friday, Aug. 27.—It was dark when we came to Fores last night; so we did not see what is called King Duncan's monument. (2) I shall now mark some gleanings of Dr. Johnson's conversation. I spoke of Leonidas, and said there were some good passages in it. JOHNSON. " Why, you must seek

for them." He said, Paul Whitehead's Manners was a poor performance. Speaking of Derrick, he told me "he had a kindness for him, and had often said, that if his letters had been written by one of a more established name, they would have been thought very pretty letters."

This morning I introduced the subject of the. origin of evil. JOHNSON. "Moral evil is oc

(1) Pronounced as a dissyllable, Affleck.- C.

(2) Duncan's monument; a huge column on the roadside near Fores, more than twenty feet high, erected in commemoration of the final retreat of the Danes from Scotland, and properly called Swene's Stone.- WALTER SCOTT.