In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

163 21 R Edinburgh On August 18, 1773, Samuel Johnson wrote in his Journey, “we left Edinburgh, a city too well known to admit description.” Without Boswell—who thankfully wrote thousands of words on their time in Edinburgh—that is almost all we would know of the three days and four nights the two men spent in that ancient capital. And what a pity that would have been, for their time in Edinburgh—at what one writer called “the peak of its celebrated period of high thinking and high stinking”—produced a wealth of entertainment and enlightenment about both men as well as about the city and its inhabitants and their customs. Edinburgh marked the site of their departure for the journey into the Highlands and Islands, and it would be the city that they returned to at journey’s end. It was where Boswell was living with his family, and so we are given a wonderful glimpse into his home life as well as into his circle of acquaintances. In spite of his declaration that Edinburgh was too well known to be described, Johnson had never been there before—had never been out of England, in fact—and had never spoken with many of the people he would meet. Boswell had carefully and thoughtfully orchestrated a series of engagements for Johnson, hoping that the great man would not find the company beneath him in any way. Boswell’s plan was to introduce him and showcase him to a curious and mostly respectful Edinburgh society and to ensure that on their trip he would be greeted by as many notable figures as possible. To achieve those ends Boswell wheedled and begged favors from a number of dignitaries, asking them to ensure that Johnson enjoyed intellectual 164 Whisky, Kilts, and the Loch Ness Monster companionship and attention. The trip was the culmination of many years of planning and anticipation for Boswell, and, to a lesser extent, Johnson. It would thrust the two together intimately over a period of some three months and help to define the relationship so brilliantly delineated years later in Boswell’s Life of Johnson. But that was in the future at this time. How did they get to this point? Boswell met Johnson for the first time on May 16, 1763, in a London bookshop. Things didn’t go smoothly for Boswell initially, but he pursued Johnson’s interest vigorously, and the older man eventually succumbed to Boswell’s undeniable charm, his close attention, and his incessant flow of ideas. During the decade of the 1760s Boswell and Johnson spoke on several occasions of the possibility of traveling to Scotland, where Boswell was born and was living. In 1771 Boswell wrote a specific proposal from Edinburgh : “I gave him an account of my comfortable life as a married man, and a lawyer in practice at the Scotch bar; invited him to Scotland, and promised to attend him to the Highlands, and Hebrides.” Johnson, whose formidable intellectual curiosity could never permit him to abandon such ideas, wrote back optimistically: “Whether we climb the Highlands or are tost among the Hebrides . . . I hope the time will come when we may try our powers both with cliffs and waters.” The time did come, of course, and Johnson—then about to turn sixtyfour —departed London on August 6 for the journey through northern England to Edinburgh to meet Boswell. His trip has been closely charted, almost by the mile. He rode in a post chaise and had company all the way. He was of mostly good humor on the trip through Lincolnshire, Stilton, Doncaster, York, Newcastle, Belford, and into the Scottish Lowlands. Johnson didn’t complain much, though physically he would seem no comfortable match for such a journey, much less the one awaiting him. He was fat and slovenly and had breathing problems. His overall health was poor, and the physical impression he left—tall, stooped, a way-too-large nose, an ill- fitting wig, the markings of smallpox and scrofula on his face—could and did frighten small children. He seldom changed shirts, and on matters of hygiene, well, let’s just say his hygiene left much to be desired (which would make him a perfect fit for the “stinking” part of Edinburgh). His temperament could be irritable, and he was often self-absorbed when he wasn’t outright suffering depression. His movements were hardly graceful. Still, his eloquent expression and strong, searching mind harnessed to a...

Share