e an instant of the honour of attending you. As I
value you more than any King in Christendom, I will perform that duty
with infinitely greater alacrity than any courtier. I can contribute but
little to your entertainment; but, my sincere esteem for you gives me
some title to the opportunity of expressing it.

'I dare say you are by this time sensible that things are pretty much
the same, as when Buchanan complained of being born _solo et seculo
inerudito_. Let me hear of you, and be persuaded that none of your
admirers is more sincerely devoted to you, than,

Dear Sir,
Your most obedient,
And most humble servant,
'ELIBANK.'

Dr. Johnson, on the following Tuesday, answered for both of us, thus:--

'My LORD, 'On the rugged shore of Skie, I had the honour of your
Lordship's letter, and can with great truth declare, that no place is so
gloomy but that it would be cheered by such a testimony of regard, from
a mind so well qualified to estimate characters, and to deal out
approbation in its due proportions. If I have more than my share, it is
your Lordship's fault; for I have always reverenced your judgment too
much, to exalt myself in your presence by any false pretensions.

'Mr. Boswell and I are at present at the disposal of the winds, and
therefore cannot fix the time at which we shall have the honour of
seeing your lordship. But we should either of us think ourselves injured
by the supposition that we would miss your lordship's conversation, when
we could enjoy it; for I have often declared that I never met you
without going away a wiser man.[534]

'I am, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient
And most humble servant,
Skie, Sept. 14, 1773.' 'SAM. JOHNSON.'

At Portree, Mr. Donald McQueen went to church and officiated in Erse,
and then came to dinner. Dr. Johnson and I resolved that we should treat
the company, so I played the landlord, or master of the feast, having
previously ordered Joseph to pay the bill.

Sir James Macdonald intended to have built a village here, which would
have done great good. A village is like a heart to a country. It
produces a perpetual circulation, and gives the people an opportunity to
make profit of many little articles, which would otherwise be in a good
measure lost. We had here a dinner, _et praeterea nihil_. Dr. Johnson
did not talk. When we were about to depart, we found that Rasay had been
beforehand wit