such a number of precedents, they have no occasion for abuse.’  Johnson.  ’Nay, Sir, they had more law long ago than they have now.  As to precedents, to be sure they will increase in course of time; but the more precedents there are, the less occasion is there for law; that is to say, the less occasion is there for investigating principles.’  Sir A.  ’I have been correcting several Scotch accents in my friend Boswell.  I doubt, Sir, if any Scotchman ever attains to a perfect English pronunciation.’  Johnson.  ’Why, Sir, few of them do, because they do not persevere after acquiring a certain degree of it.  But, Sir, there can be no doubt that they may attain to a perfect English pronunciation, if they will.  We find how near they come to it; and certainly, a man who conquers nineteen parts of the Scottish accent, may conquer the twentieth.  But, Sir, when a man has got the better of nine tenths he grows weary, he relaxes his diligence, he finds he has corrected his accent so far as not to be disagreeable, and he no longer desires his friends to tell him when he is wrong; nor does he choose to be told.  Sir, when people watch me narrowly, and I do not watch myself, they will find me out to be of a particular county.  In the same manner, Dunning may be found out to be a Devonshire man.  So most Scotchmen may be found out.  But, Sir, little aberrations are of no disadvantage.  I never catched Mallet in a Scotch accent; and yet Mallet, I suppose, was past five-and-twenty before he came to London.’

I again visited him at night.  Finding him in a very good humour, I ventured to lead him to the subject of our situation in a future state, having much curiosity to know his notions on that point. . . .

Boswell.  ’I do not know whether there are any well-attested stories of the appearance of ghosts.  You know there is a famous story of the appearance of Mrs. Veal, prefixed to Drelincourt on Death.’  Johnson.  ’I believe, Sir, that is given up.  I believe the woman declared upon her death-bed that it was a lie.’  Boswell.  ’This objection is made against the truth of ghosts appearing:  that if they are in a state of happiness, it would be a punishment to them to return to this world; and if they are in a state of misery, it would be giving them a respite.’  Johnson.  ’Why, Sir, as the happiness or misery of embodied spirits does not depend upon place, but is intellectual, we cannot say that they are less happy or less miserable by appearing upon earth.’

We went down between twelve and one to Mrs. Williams’s room, and drank tea.  I mentioned that we were to have the remains of Mr. Gray, in prose and verse, published by Mr. Mason.  Johnson.  ’I think we have had enough of Gray.  I see they have published a splendid edition of Akenside’s works.  One bad ode may be suffered; but a number of them together makes one sick.’  Boswell.  ’Akenside’s distinguished poem is his Pleasures of Imagination; but for my part, I never could admire it so much as most people do.’  Johnson.  ‘Sir, I could not read it through.’  Boswell.  ’I have read it through; but I did not find any great power in it.’