ublished by Sir William Forbes[64], and the world has acknowledged
their uncommon merit. I am well assured Lord Mansfield has pronounced
them to be excellent.

Here I obtained a promise from Lord Chief Baron Orde[65], that he would
dine at my house next day. I presented Mr. Johnson to his Lordship, who
politely said to him, I have not the honour of knowing you; but I hope
for it, and to see you at my house. I am to wait on you to-morrow.' This
respectable English judge will be long remembered in Scotland, where he
built an elegant house, and lived in it magnificently. His own ample
fortune, with the addition of his salary, enabled him to be splendidly
hospitable. It may be fortunate for an individual amongst ourselves to
be Lord Chief Baron; and a most worthy man now has the office; but, in
my opinion, it is better for Scotland in general, that some of our
publick employments should be filled by gentlemen of distinction from
the south side of the Tweed, as we have the benefit of promotion in
England. Such an interchange would make a beneficial mixture of manners,
and render our union more complete. Lord Chief Baron Orde was on good
terms with us all, in a narrow country filled with jarring interests and
keen parties; and, though I well knew his opinion to be the same with my
own, he kept himself aloof at a very critical period indeed, when the
_Douglas cause_ shook the sacred security of _birthright_ in Scotland
to its foundation; a cause, which had it happened before the Union, when
there was no appeal to a British House of Lords, would have left the
great fortress of honours and of property in ruins[66]. When we got
home, Dr. Johnson desired to see my books. He took down Ogden's _Sermons
on Prayer_[67], on which I set a very high value, having been much
edified by them, and he retired with them to his room. He did not stay
long, but soon joined us in the drawing room. I presented to him Mr.
Robert Arbuthnot, a relation of the celebrated Dr. Arbuthnot[68], and a
man of literature and taste. To him we were obliged for a previous
recommendation, which secured us a very agreeable reception at St.
Andrews, and which Dr. Johnson, in his _Journey_, ascribes to 'some
invisible friend[69].'

Of Dr. Beattie, Mr. Johnson said, 'Sir, he has written like a man
conscious of the truth, and feeling his own strength[70]. Treating your
adversary with respect is giving him an advantage to which he is not
entitled[71]. The greatest par