e I had a good view of it. We had here a
tolerable inn. Dr. Johnson had owned to me this morning, that he was out
of humour. Indeed, he shewed it a good deal in the ship; for when I was
expressing my joy on the prospect of our landing in Mull, he said, he
had no joy, when he recollected that it would be five days before he
should get to the main land. I was afraid he would now take a sudden
resolution to give up seeing Icolmkill. A dish of tea, and some good
bread and butter, did him service, and his bad humour went off. I told
him, that I was diverted to hear all the people whom we had visited in
our tour, say, _'Honest man!_ he's pleased with every thing; he's always
content!'--'Little do they know,' said I. He laughed, and said, 'You
rogue[837]!'

We sent to hire horses to carry us across the island of Mull to the
shore opposite to Inchkenneth, the residence of Sir Allan M'Lean, uncle
to young Col, and Chief of the M'Leans, to whose house we intended to go
the next day. Our friend Col went to visit his aunt, the wife of Dr.
Alexander M'Lean, a physician, who lives about a mile from Tobermorie.

Dr. Johnson and I sat by ourselves at the inn, and talked a good deal. I
told him, that I had found, in Leandro Alberti's Description of Italy,
much of what Addison has given us in his _Remarks_[838]. He said, 'The
collection of passages from the Classicks has been made by another
Italian: it is, however, impossible to detect a man as a plagiary in
such a case, because all who set about making such a collection must
find the same passages; but, if you find the same applications in
another book, then Addison's learning in his _Remarks_ tumbles down. It
is a tedious book; and, if it were not attached to Addison's previous
reputation, one would not think much of it. Had he written nothing else,
his name would not have lived. Addison does not seem to have gone deep
in Italian literature: he shews nothing of it in his subsequent
writings. He shews a great deal of French learning. There is, perhaps,
more knowledge circulated in the French language than in any other[839].
There is more original knowledge in English.' 'But the French (said I)
have the art of accommodating[840] literature.' JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir: we
have no such book as Moreri's _Dictionary_[841].' BOSWELL. 'Their
_Ana_[842] are good.' JOHNSON. 'A few of them are good; but we have one
book of that kind better than any of them; Selden's _Table-talk_. As to
original litera