’Sir, I had yesterday the honour of receiving your book of your Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, which you was so good as to send me, by the hands of our mutual friend, Mr. Boswell, of Auchinleck; for which I return you my most hearty thanks; and after carefully reading it over again, shall deposit in my little collection of choice books, next our worthy friend’s Journey to Corsica.  As there are many things to admire in both performances, I have often wished that no Travels or Journeys should be published but those undertaken by persons of integrity and capacity to judge well, and describe faithfully, and in good language, the situation, condition, and manners of the countries past through.  Indeed our country of Scotland, in spite of the union of the crowns, is still in most places so devoid of clothing, or cover from hedges and plantations, that it was well you gave your readers a sound Monitoire with respect to that circumstance.  The truths you have told, and the purity of the language in which they are expressed, as your Journey is universally read, may, and already appear to have a very good effect.  For a man of my acquaintance, who has the largest nursery for trees and hedges in this country, tells me, that of late the demand upon him for these articles is doubled, and sometimes tripled.  I have, therefore, listed Dr. Samuel Johnson in some of my memorandums of the principal planters and favourers of the enclosures, under a name which I took the liberty to invent from the Greek, Papadendrion.  Lord Auchinleck and some few more are of the list.  I am told that one gentleman in the shire of Aberdeen, viz.  Sir Archibald Grant, has planted above fifty millions of trees on a piece of very wild ground at Monimusk:  I must enquire if he has fenced them well, before he enters my list; for, that is the soul of enclosing.  I began myself to plant a little, our ground being too valuable for much, and that is now fifty years ago; and the trees, now in my seventy-fourth year, I look up to with reverence, and shew them to my eldest son now in his fifteenth year, and they are full the height of my country-house here, where I had the pleasure of receiving you, and hope again to have that satisfaction with our mutual friend, Mr. Boswell.  I shall always continue, with the truest esteem, dear Doctor, your much obliged, and obedient humble servant,

‘Alexander Dick.’

’To James Boswell, Esq.

’Dear sir,—­It is so long since I heard any thing from you, that I am not easy about it; write something to me next post.  When you sent your last letter, every thing seemed to be mending; I hope nothing has lately grown worse.  I suppose young Alexander continues to thrive, and Veronica is now very pretty company.  I do not suppose the lady is yet reconciled to me, yet let her know that I love her very well, and value her very much. . . .

’Poor Beauclerk still continues very ill.  Langton lives on as he used to do.  His children are very pretty, and, I think, his lady loses her Scotch.  Paoli I never see.