I should have mentioned that Mr. White, a Welshman, who has been many years factor (i.e. steward) on the estate of Calder, drank tea with us last night, and upon getting a note from Mr. M’Aulay, asked us to his house.  We had not time to accept of his invitation.  He gave us a letter of introduction to Mr. Ferne, master of stores at Fort George.  He shewed it to me.  It recommended ’two celebrated gentlemen; no less than Dr. Johnson, author of his Dictionary,—­and Mr. Boswell, known at Edinburgh by the name of Paoli.’  He said he hoped I had no objection to what he had written; if I had, he would alter it.  I thought it was a pity to check his effusions, and acquiesced; taking care, however, to seal the letter, that it might not appear that I had read it.

A conversation took place about saying grace at breakfast (as we do in Scotland) as well as at dinner and supper; in which Dr. Johnson said, ’It is enough if we have stated seasons of prayer; no matter when[383].  A man may as well pray when he mounts his horse, or a woman when she milks her cow, (which Mr. Grant told us is done in the Highlands,) as at meals; and custom is to be followed[384].’

We proceeded to Fort George.  When we came into the square, I sent a soldier with the letter to Mr. Ferne.  He came to us immediately, and along with him came Major Brewse of the Engineers, pronounced Bruce.  He said he believed it was originally the same Norman name with Bruce.  That he had dined at a house in London, where were three Bruces, one of the Irish line, one of the Scottish line, and himself of the English line.  He said he was shewn it in the Herald’s office spelt fourteen different ways[385].  I told him the different spellings of my name[386].  Dr Johnson observed, that there had been great disputes about the spelling of Shakspear’s name; at last it was thought it would be settled by looking at the original copy of his will; but, upon examining it, he was found to have written it himself no less than three different ways.

Mr. Ferne and Major Brewse first carried us to wait on Sir Eyre Coote[387], whose regiment, the 37th, was lying here, and who then commanded the fort.  He asked us to dine with him, which we agreed to do.

Before dinner we examined the fort.  The Major explained the fortification to us, and Mr. Ferne gave us an account of the stores.  Dr. Johnson talked of the proportions of charcoal and salt-petre in making gunpowder, of granulating it, and of giving it a gloss[388].  He made a very good figure upon these topicks.  He said to me afterwards, that ’he had talked ostentatiously[389].’  We reposed ourselves a little in Mr. Ferne’s house.  He had every thing in neat order as in England; and a tolerable collection of books.  I looked into Pennant’s Tour in Scotland.  He says little of this fort; but that ’the barracks, &c. form several streets[390].’  This is aggrandising.  Mr. Ferne observed, if he had said they form a square, with a row of buildings before it, he would have given a juster description.  Dr. Johnson remarked, ’how seldom descriptions correspond with realities; and the reason is, that people do not write them till some time after, and then their imagination has added circumstances.’