J14
pp. 21

where. But about 10, I came to Sir John Pringle's. He received me with his usual grave steady kindness. General Clerk was with him. The conversation turned on the wars of Venus. The General assured me that oil was an infallible shield. Sir John nodded assent; I resolved to try it fairly. After the General went away I talked to Sir John of Mademoiselle de Zuylen. I had just received a letter from Mr. Brown at Utrecht, containing a very sensible proposal from her, that if I had any serious thoughts of her, I should come and see her, and then we might judge whether we could live happily together or not. Sir John had opposed any such scheme. But I found him now better disposed to it. Upon which I wrote to my father, and begged permission to go to Utrecht.

FRIDAY 25 MARCH.

I dined at my good kinsman, Godfrey Bosville, Esquire's.
Nobody was there, but just the family that I left. He re-
ceived me with true kindness. Miss Bosville was now engaged
to Sir Alexander MacDonald. Godfrey had drawn up a very full
account of his family. It entertained me a good deal and put
some comfortable ideas into my mind. I then went to Covent
Garden and in one of the Courts called for a young lady whom
I had seen when formerly in London. I did not find her;
but I found Kitty Brookes as pretty a lively lass as youth...

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J 14
p.22-23

COM
PUN
ACCEN
G. S.

...enlightened Jury than a number of tradesmen. He answered this argument, by observing, that in England the Jury is allways changed for every cause; that the Jurymen are chosen by a sort of chance, as the Judges just take a pin, and prick at random on the back of the paper whereon their names are written, and wherever the holes happen to be made these Jurymen are chosen.

"whereas," said he, "the Lords of Session form a perpetual Jury which is a very dangerous one." He praised my Account of Corsica much, though he found some faults with it. "You will see my opinion of it," said he. It was curious to sit with the very person whom in a little I should look upon as an awful Reviewer. He talked very well (I mean very justly) of Wilkes. Said that he wrote with vivacity; but that there was no political knowledge, no manliness, in his papers. "Ah," said he, "when Lord Bolingbroke and I wrote together, when the Craftsman came out, when Old England by Jeffery Broadbottom came out!" We took a very cheerful glass of claret and Maderia. He took me by the hand, and said my conversation exceeded my writing. "Well," said he, "you are a Genius. A thousand people might have thought of making themselves famous before one would have thought of Corsica." He asked Mckonockie and me to dine with him on the Sunday night. When the old man praised my Book, I paid him a very genteel compliment. "Sir," said I, "amidst such historick oaks as yours,

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