The Life of Samuel Johnson

In March 1776, Boswell and Johnson go on a “ramble” to Lichfield and other places in the country. They go to Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown, then to Birmingham and reconnect with Johnson’s old schoolfriend Mr. Hector. There, Johnson also reunites with Mrs. Careless, a clergyman’s widow who was his “first love.” Johnson and she drink tea together, then Johnson expounds his practical, unromantic view of love to Boswell. According to Johnson, married couples would be just as happily married if their marriages were arranged “by the Lord Chancellor, upon a due consideration of characters and circumstances” (705).

Boswell and Johnson meet David Garrick’s brother Peter and others in the Lichfield area, then attend a theatrical performance in Lichfield itself. Toward the end of the month, the pair returns to London.

In this section and elsewhere, Boswell presents Johnson exhibiting a generally negative view of cultures other than European. He dismisses Chinese civilization (984) and, a few times, chides Boswell for defending the ways of those he considers “savages” and “barbarians,” including Native Americans and the natives of “Otaheité” (Tahiti) (751). In fact, Johnson disdains foreigners generally, something which Boswell attributes to his national pride as an Englishman.

However, in this section, Boswell also recounts that Johnson became acquainted with Omai, “a native of one of the South Sea Islands” (723) who had come to England.