The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson | Page 2

the imagination of every body.
When I was at Ferney, in 1764, I mentioned our design to Voltaire. He
looked at me, as if I had talked of going to the North Pole, and said,
'You do not insist on my accompanying you?' 'No, sir.' 'Then I am very
willing you should go.' I was not afraid that our curious expedition
would be prevented by such apprehensions; but I doubted that it would
not be possible to prevail on Dr Johnson to relinquish, for some time,
the felicity of a London life, which, to a man who can enjoy it with full
intellectual relish, is apt to make existence in any narrower sphere seem
insipid or irksome. I doubted that he would not be willing to come
down from his elevated state of philosophical dignity; from a
superiority of wisdom among the wise, and of learning among the
learned; and from flashing his wit upon minds bright enough to reflect
it.
He had disappointed my expectations so long, that I began to despair;
but in spring, 1773, he talked of coming to Scotland that year with so
much firmness, that I hoped he was at last in earnest. I knew that, if he
were once launched from the metropolis, he would go forward very
well; and I got our common friends there to assist in setting him afloat.
To Mrs Thrale in particular, whose enchantment over him seldom

failed, I was much obliged. It was, 'I'll give thee a wind.' 'Thou art
kind.' To attract him, we had invitations from the chiefs Macdonald and
Macleod; and, for additional aid, I wrote to Lord Elibank, Dr William
Robertson, and Dr Beattie.
To Dr Robertson, so far as my letter concerned the present subject, I
wrote as follows:
Our friend, Mr Samuel Johnson, is in great health and spirits; and, I do
think, has a serious resolution to visit Scotland this year. The more
attraction, however, the better; and therefore, though I know he will be
happy to meet you there, it will forward the scheme, if, in your answer
to this, you express yourself concerning it with that power of which
you are so happily possessed, and which may be so directed as to
operate strongly upon him.
His answer to that part of my letter was quite as I could have wished. It
was written with the address and persuasion of the historian of
America.
When I saw you last, you gave us some hopes that you might prevail
with Mr Johnson to make that excursion to Scotland, with the
expectation of which we have long flattered ourselves. If he could order
matters so, as to pass some time in Edinburgh, about the close of the
summer session, and then visit some of the Highland scenes, I am
confident he would be pleased with the grand features of nature in
many parts of this country: he will meet with many persons here who
respect him, and some whom I am persuaded he will think not
unworthy of his esteem. I wish he would make the experiment. He
sometimes cracks his jokes upon us; but he will find that we can
distinguish between the stabs of malevolence, and 'the rebukes of the
righteous, which are like excellent oil [footnote: Our friend Edmund
Burke, who by this time had received some pretty severe strokes from
Dr Johnson, on account of the unhappy difference in their politicks,
upon my repeating this passage to him, exclaimed, 'Oil of vitriol!'], and
break not the head'. Offer my best compliments to him, and assure him
that I shall be happy to have the satisfaction of seeing him under my
roof.

To Dr Beattie I wrote,
The chief intention of this letter is to inform you, that I now seriously
believe Mr Samuel Johnson will visit Scotland this year: but I wish that
every power of attraction may be employed to secure our having so
valuable an acquisition, and therefore I hope you will without delay
write to me what I know you think, that I may read it to the mighty
sage, with proper emphasis, before I leave London, which I must soon.
He talks of you with the same warmth that he did last year. We are to
see as much of Scotland as we can, in the months of August and
September. We shall not be long of being at Marischal College
[footnote: This, I find, is a Scotticism. I should have said, 'It will not be
long before we shall be at Marischal College.']. He is particularly
desirous of seeing some of the Western Islands.
Dr Beattie did better: ipse venit. He was, however, so polite as to wave
his privilege of nil mihi rescribus, and wrote from Edinburgh, as
follows:
Your very kind and