Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/64

 liv AX INTRODUCTORY Tell me my dear sir when you have consulted your pillow what you think of this to me I confess it appears a promising place for a man who has entered late into the status of a post-captain and the more so as your rank will go on for Phillip the first Governor is now an admiral holding a pension for his services in the country. Every paragraph in this letter deserves to be studied, for the light it throws upon the history of the time as well as on the character of the man who wrote it. How large a share he had in the actual government of the colony becomes obvious when we find him offering the appointment of Governor to one of his friends and fixing the salary of the office. The conversation referred to probably took place with Viscount Castlereagh, who administered the Colonial and War Department in 1805, Pitt being then a second time Prime Minister. Blights adventures in the character of a Governor have a new source of interest for us in the fact that he was selected by Banks as the most capable man of his class for a position which he failed so conspicuously to maintain. The gentleman being gone, and Dr. Johnson having left the room for some time, a debate arose between the Rev. Mr. Stockdale and Mrs. Desmoulins, whether Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were entitled to any share of glory from their expedition [with Cook in the Endeavour]. When Dr. Johnson returned to us, I told him the subject of their dis- pute. Johnson : " Why, sir, it was properly for botany that they went out ; I believe they thought only of ' culling of simples.' "* If Banks went out only for culling of simples, assuredly no man ever came back with such results to show for his journey. Even Johnson's Dictionary looks a very small performance when placed beside the map of Australia. The wonderfully small views of great things whicb the Dr. could take when it pleased him to do so, is shown in another conversation about the great voyages. During the preparations • Boswell's Johnson, by Napier, vol. ii, p. 3. Digitized by VjOOQIC