er grace made Dr. Johnson come and sit by her, and asked him why he
made his journey so late in the year. 'Why, madam, (said he,) you know
Mr. Boswell must attend the Court of Session, and it does not rise till
the twelfth of August.' She said, with some sharpness, 'I _know nothing_
of Mr. Boswell.' Poor Lady Lucy Douglas[963], to whom I mentioned this,
observed, 'She knew _too much_ of Mr. Boswell.' I shall make no remark
on her grace's speech. I indeed felt it as rather too severe; but when I
recollected that my punishment was inflicted by so dignified a beauty, I
had that kind of consolation which a man would feel who is strangled by
a _silken cord_. Dr. Johnson was all attention to her grace. He used
afterwards a droll expression, upon her enjoying the three titles of
Hamilton, Brandon, and Argyle[964]. Borrowing an image from the Turkish
empire, he called her a _Duchess_ with _three tails_.

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.

Mr. John M'Aulay passed the evening with us at our inn. When Dr. Johnson
spoke of people whose principles were good, but whose practice was
faulty, Mr. M'Aulay said, he had no notion of people being in earnest in
their good professions, whose practice was not suitable to them. The
Doctor grew warm, and said, 'Sir, you are so grossly ignorant of human
nature, as not to know that a man may be very sincere in good
principles, without having good practice[965]!'

Dr. Johnson was unquestionably in the right; and whoever examines
himself candidly, will be satisfied of it, though the inconsistency
between principles and practice is greater in some men than in others.

I recollect very little of this night's conversation. I am sorry that
indolence came upon me towards the conclusion of our journey, so that I
did not write down what passed with the same assiduity as during the
greatest part of it.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26.

Mr. M'Aulay breakfasted with us, nothing hurt or dismayed by his last
night's correction. Being a man of good sense, he had a just admiration
of Dr. Johnson.

Either yesterday morning, or this, I communicated to Dr. Johnson, from
Mr. M'Aulay's information, the news that Dr. Beattie had got a pension
of two hundred pounds a ye