Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 2: Great Britain and Ireland, Part 2
General
Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 2: Great Britain and Ireland, Part 2
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Ireland -- Description and travel
The duchess was very attentive to Dr. Johnson. I know not how a middle
state came to be mentioned. Her Grace wished to hear him on that point.
"Madam," said he, "your own relation, Mr. Archibald Campbell, can tell
you better about it than I can. He was a bishop of the Nonjuring
communion, and wrote a book upon the subject." He engaged to get it for
her grace. He afterward gave a full history of Mr. Archibald Campbell,
which I am sorry I do not recollect particularly.
He said Mr. Campbell had been bred a violent Whig, but afterward "kept
better company, and became a Tory." He said this with a smile, in
pleasant allusion, as I thought, to the opposition between his own
political principles and those of the duke's clan. He added that Mr.
Campbell, after the revolution, was thrown into jail on account of his
tenets; but, on application by letter to the old Lord Townshend, was
released; that he always spoke of his lordship with great gratitude,
saying, "tho a Whig, he had humanity."
A gentleman in company, after dinner, was desired by the duke to go into
another room, for a specimen of curious marble, which his grace wished
to show us. He brought a wrong piece, upon which the duke sent him back
again. He could not refuse, but, to avoid any appearance of servility,
he whistled as he walked out of the room, to show his independence. On
my mentioning this afterward to Dr. Johnson, he said, it was a nice
trait of character.
Dr. Johnson talked a great deal, and was so entertaining, that Lady
Betty Hamilton, after dinner, went and placed her chair close to his,
leaned upon the back of it, and listened eagerly. It would have made a
fine picture to have drawn the sage and her at this time in their
several attitudes. He did not know, all the while, how much he was
honored. I told him afterward. I never saw him so gentle and complaisant
as this day.
We went to tea. The duke and I walked up and down the drawing room,
conversing. The duchess still continued to show the same marked coldness
for me; for which, tho I suffered from it, I made every allowance,
considering the very warm part I had taken for Douglas, in the cause in
which she thought her son deeply interested. Had not her grace
discovered some displeasure toward me, I should have suspected her of
insensibility or dissimulation....
He was much pleased with our visit at the castle of Inverary. The Duke
of Argyle was exceedingly polite to him, and, upon his complaining of
the shelties which he had hitherto ridden being too small for him, his
grace told him he should be provided with a good horse to carry him
next day.
STAFFA AND IONA [Footnote: From "Visits to Remarkable Places."]
BY WILLIAM HOWITT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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