I select from his private register the following passage:'July 25,1776.O God,who hast ordained that whatever is to be desired should be sought by labour,and who,by thy blessing,bringest honest labour to good effect,look with mercy upon my studies and endeavours.Grant me,O LORD,to design only what is lawful and right;and afford me calmness of mind,and steadiness of purpose,that I may so do thy will in this short life,as to obtain happiness in the world to come,for the sake of JESUS CHRIST our Lord.Amen.'
It appears from a note subjoined,that this was composed when he 'purposed to apply vigorously to study,particularly of the Greek and Italian tongues.'
Such a purpose,so expressed,at the age of sixty-seven,is admirable and encouraging;and it must impress all the thinking part of my readers with a consolatory confidence in habitual devotion,when they see a man of such enlarged intellectual powers as Johnson,thus in the genuine earnestness of secrecy,imploring the aid of that Supreme Being,'from whom cometh down every good and every perfect gift.'
1777:AETAT.68.]--In 1777,it appears from his Prayers and Meditations,that Johnson suffered much from a state of mind 'unsettled and perplexed,'and from that constitutional gloom,which,together with his extreme humility and anxiety with regard to his religious state,made him contemplate himself through too dark and unfavourable a medium.It may be said of him,that he 'saw GOD in clouds.'Certain we may be of his injustice to himself in the following lamentable paragraph,which it is painful to think came from the contrite heart of this great man,to whose labours the world is so much indebted:'When I survey my past life,Idiscover nothing but a barren waste of time with some disorders of body,and disturbances of the mind,very near to madness,which Ihope He that made me will suffer to extenuate many faults,and excuse many deficiencies.'But we find his devotions in this year eminently fervent;and we are comforted by observing intervals of quiet,composure,and gladness.
On Easter-day we find the following emphatick prayer:
'Almighty and most merciful Father,who seest all our miseries,and knowest all our necessities,look down upon me,and pity me.
Defend me from the violent incursion [incursions]of evil thoughts,and enable me to form and keep such resolutions as may conduce to the discharge of the duties which thy providence shall appoint me;and so help me,by thy Holy Spirit,that my heart may surely there be fixed,where true joys are to be found,and that I may serve thee with pure affection and a cheerful mind.Have mercy upon me,O GOD,have mercy upon me;years and infirmities oppress me,terrour and anxiety beset me.Have mercy upon me,my Creator and my Judge.[In all dangers protect me.]In all perplexities relieve and free me;and so help me by thy Holy Spirit,that I may now so commemorate the death of thy Son our Saviour JESUS CHRIST,as that when this short and painful life shall have an end,I may,for his sake,be received to everlasting happiness.Amen.'
'SIR ALEXANDER DICK TO DR.SAMUEL JOHNSON.
'Prestonfield,Feb.17,1777.
'SIR,I had yesterday the honour of receiving your book of your Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland,which you was so good as to send me,by the hands of our mutual friend,Mr.Boswell,of Auchinleck;for which I return you my most hearty thanks;and after carefully reading it over again,shall deposit in my little collection of choice books,next our worthy friend's Journey to Corsica.As there are many things to admire in both performances,I have often wished that no Travels or Journeys should be published but those undertaken by persons of integrity and capacity to judge well,and describe faithfully,and in good language,the situation,condition,and manners of the countries past through.Indeed our country of Scotland,in spite of the union of the crowns,is still in most places so devoid of clothing,or cover from hedges and plantations,that it was well you gave your readers a sound Monitoire with respect to that circumstance.The truths you have told,and the purity of the language in which they are expressed,as your Journey is universally read,may,and already appear to have a very good effect.For a man of my acquaintance,who has the largest nursery for trees and hedges in this country,tells me,that of late the demand upon him for these articles is doubled,and sometimes tripled.I have,therefore,listed Dr.Samuel Johnson in some of my memorandums of the principal planters and favourers of the enclosures,under a name which I took the liberty to invent from the Greek,Papadendrion.Lord Auchinleck and some few more are of the list.I am told that one gentleman in the shire of Aberdeen,viz.Sir Archibald Grant,has planted above fifty millions of trees on a piece of very wild ground at Monimusk:Imust enquire if he has fenced them well,before he enters my list;for,that is the soul of enclosing.I began myself to plant a little,our ground being too valuable for much,and that is now fifty years ago;and the trees,now in my seventy-fourth year,Ilook up to with reverence,and shew them to my eldest son now in his fifteenth year,and they are full the height of my country-house here,where I had the pleasure of receiving you,and hope again to have that satisfaction with our mutual friend,Mr.
Boswell.I shall always continue,with the truest esteem,dear Doctor,your much obliged,and obedient humble servant,'ALEXANDER DICK.'
'To JAMES BOSWELL,ESQ.
'DEAR SIR,--It is so long since I heard any thing from you,that Iam not easy about it;write something to me next post.When you sent your last letter,every thing seemed to be mending;I hope nothing has lately grown worse.I suppose young Alexander continues to thrive,and Veronica is now very pretty company.I do not suppose the lady is yet reconciled to me,yet let her know that I love her very well,and value her very much....