whose consideration and
explanation we shall attempt later on, now for the first time meets us,
his inveterate love for interviewing criminals, and accordingly, 'as I
wished to see all things in Corsica,' he had a meeting with the hangman
who seemed sensible of his situation. The inhabitants crowded round him
at a village as he advanced, and questioned the traveller, as Coleridge
at Valetta found himself similarly interrogated, as to his professing
himself a Christian when he did not believe in the Pope--_e perche_, and
why? The old candidate for the priesthood managed to deftly evade this
query by an assurance that in Britain the people were too far off and in
a theological climate of their own. He was in the highest humour, and in
this unusual flow of spirits he harangued the men of Bastelica with
great fluency, getting, however, at Sollacaro somewhat nervous as the
interview with the Corsican leader drew nigh. Paoli lived in constant
dread of assassination, and the sudden arrival of this mysterious
stranger was strongly calculated to arouse suspicions. For ten minutes,
in silence, he looked at Boswell, who broke in with the remark that he
was a gentleman from Scotland upon his travels and had lately visited
Rome from which, having seen the ruins of one brave people, he was now
come to view the rise of another. The general was not quite set at ease
by this sententiously balanced sentence, and years after he told Miss
Burney about his impressions at the time of the mysterious stranger. It
shews the ruling passion strong in life, and that Boswell, as 'the
chiel' amang them takin' notes,' forgot the rules of ordinary courtesy
and prudence in the gratification of his darling method. 'He came to my
country sudden,' said Paoli in his broken English, 'and he fetched me
some letters of recommending him. And I supposed, in my _mente_ he was
in the privacy one espy; for I look away from him to my other companies,
and when I look back to him I behold it in his hands his tablet, and one
pencil. O, he was at the work, I give it you my honour, of writing down
all what I say to some persons whatsoever in the room. I was angry
enough, pretty much so. But soon I found out I was myself the monster he
came to observe. O, he is a very good man Mr Boswell at the bottom, so
witty, cheerful, so talkable. But at the first, Oh I was indeed _fache_
of the sufficient.' This first glimpse of Bozzy at work is delightful.
He was in fact "making hims