easily confounded with giu; then the Italians form a substantive of the ablative of an adjective, and thence giurno, or, as they make it giorno: which is readily contracted into giour, or jour." He observed, that the Bohemian language was true Sclavonic. The Swede said, it had some similarity with the German. JOHNSON. " Why, Sir, to be sure, such parts of Sclavonia as confine with Germany will borrow German words; and such parts as confine with Tartary will borrow Tartar words.

He said, he never had it properly ascertained that the Scotch Highlanders and the Irish understood each other. (1) I told him that my cousin, Colonel Graham, of the Royal Highlanders, whom I met at Drogheda, told me they did. JOHNSON." Sir, if the Highlanders understood Irish, why translate the New Testament into Erse, as was lately done at Edinburgh, when there is an Irish translation." BosWELL. "Although the Erse and Irish are both dialects of the same language, there may be a good deal of diversity between them, as between the different dialects in Italy." The Swede went away, and Mr.Johnson continued his reading of the papers. I said, "I am afraid, Sir, it is troublesome." Why, Sir," said he, "I do not take much delight in it; but I'll go through it."

66

We went to the Mitre, and dined in the room where he and I first supped together. He gave me

(1) There is no doubt the languages are the same, and the difference in pronunciation and construction not very considerable. The Erse or Earish is the Irish; and the race called Scots came originally from Ulster."-SIR WALTER SCOTT.

ÆTAT. 63.

SCHOOLMASTERS.

66

185

great hopes of my cause. Sir," said he, "the government of a schoolmaster is somewhat of the nature of military government; that is to say, it must be arbitrary, it must be exercised by the will of one man, according to particular circumstances. You must show some learning upon this occasion. You must show, that a schoolmaster has a prescriptive right to beat; and that an action of assault and battery cannot be admitted against him unless there is some great excess, some barbarity. This man has maimed none of his boys. They are all left with the full exercise of their corporeal faculties. In our schools in England, many boys have been maimed; yet I never heard of an action against a schoolmaster on that account. Puffendorff, I think, maintains the right of a schoolmaster to beat his scholars."

CHAPTER VII.

Sir A. Macdonald.

Coke.

1772.

Choice of Chancellors.

Lord Mansfield.

nunciation. - Etymology.

Ghost Stories. Mrs. Veal.

Lord

Pro

Scotch Accent.
Disembodied Spirits.·

Gray, Mason, and Akenside. Swearing. - Warton's Essay on Pope. Ranelagh. Luxury. Inequality of Livings. - Hon. Thomas Erskine. — Fielding and Richardson. Coriat's Crudities. Gaming. Earl of Buchan. Attachment in Families.-Feudal System. - Cave's Ghost Story.-Witches.

ON Saturday, March 27., I introduced to him Sir Alexander Macdonald (1), with whom he had expressed a wish to be acquainted. He received him very courteously.

Sir Alexander observed, that the Chancellors in England are chosen from views much inferior

(1) Next brother of Sir James Macdonald, whom Mr. Boswell calls the Marcellus of Scotland, and whom the concurrent testimony of his contemporaries proves to have been a very extraordinary young man. He died at Rome in 1766. (See post, Sept. 5. 1773.) Sir Alexander succeeded his brother as eighth Baronet, and was created an Irish Baron, by the title of Lord Macdonald, in 1776. The late Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Sir Archibald Macdonald, was their youngest brother. shall see more of Sir Alexander under the year 1773, during the Tour to the Hebrides.- C.

We

ETAT. 63. CHOICE OF CHANCELLORS.

187

to the office, being chosen from temporary political views. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, in such a government as ours, no man is appointed to an office because he is the fittest for it, nor hardly in any other government; because there are so many connections and dependencies to be studied. A despotic prince may choose a man to an office, merely because he is the fittest for it. The king of Prussia may do it." SIR A. "I think, Sir, almost all great lawyers, such at least as have written upon law, have known only law, and nothing else." JOHNSON. "Why no, Sir; Judge Hale was a great lawyer, and wrote upon law; and yet he knew a great many other things, and has written upon other things. Selden too." SIR A. "Very true, Sir; and Lord Bacon. But was not Lord Coke a mere lawyer?" JOHNSON. "Why, I am afraid he was; but he would have taken very ill if you had told him so. He would have prosecuted you for scandal." BOSWELL. "Lord Mansfield is not a mere lawyer." JOHNSON. "No, Sir, I never was in Lord Mansfield's company; but Lord Mansfield was distinguished at the University. Lord Mansfield, when he first came to town, 'drank champagne with the wits,' as Prior says. He was the friend of Pope." (1) SIR A. "Barristers, I believe, are not so abusive now as they were for

it

(1) He was one of his executors. The large space which (thanks to Mr. Boswell) Dr. Johnson occupies in our estimate of the society of his day, makes it surprising that he should never have been in company with Lord Mansfield; but Boswell was disposed to over-rate the extent and rank of Johnson's acquaintance.-C.

merly. (1) I fancy they had less law long ago, and so were obliged to take to abuse, to fill up the time. Now they have such a number of precedents, they have no occasion for abuse." JOHNSON. "Nay, Sir, they had more law long ago than they have now. As to precedents, to be sure they will increase in course of time; but the more precedents there are, the less occasion is there for law; that is to say, the less occasion is there for investigating principles." SIR A. "I have been correcting several Scotch accents in my friend Boswell. I doubt, Sir, if any Scotchman ever attains to a perfect English pronunciation." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, few of them do, because they do not persevere after acquiring a certain degree of it. But, Sir, there can be no doubt that they may attain to a perfect English pronunciation, if they will. We find how near they come to it; and certainly, a man who conquers nineteen parts of the Scottish accent, may conquer the twentieth. But, Sir, when a man has got the better of nine tenths he grows weary, he relaxes his diligence, he finds he has corrected his accent so far as not to be disagreeable, and he no longer desires his friends to tell him when he is wrong; nor does he choose to be told. Sir, when people watch me narrowly, and I do not watch myself, they will find me out to be of a particular county. In the same manner, Dunning may be found out to be a Devonshire man. So most Scotchmen may be found

(1) The general tone of society is probably improved in this respect, and barristers are more men of the world, and mix more in polite company than at the times Sir A. Macdonald alluded

to.

-C.