Augustan dogs

[AS Rounce]

On Fri, 1 Aug 1997, Niall Martin wrote:

> Adam, are you pulling my leg, or does Boswell's father really refer to "the
> learned english dog"? If you're not, and he does, then I have a couple of
> other questions:
> 
> 1) to or who or what was he referring -- in the mouth of a Scotsman, you
> naturally hear the `english' accentuated -- so I immediately suspect it of
> being an Edinburgh term for some English politician, or Scottish in-joke.

I agree that the comment's ambiguous; the more I think about it, the
more it seems to be a general anti-English remark. (growled with feeling
by Lord Auchinleck); the unlikely alternative is that he's remembering
and comparing the blind preacher to what he's heard of the LED. The only
thing supporting the latter meaning is that Boswell is reminded of his
father's comment by Johnson's woman preacher/dog's hind legs remark, so
perhaps the two remarks do refer to quixotic canine phenomena. 

> 
> 2) would Pynchon have had to consult the manuscript of the _Life_ if this
> was indeed his source, or are there facsimiles available?

I got this from a facsimile edn, which is about three years old, that
goes up to 1769 in the *Life*. More are on the way/have already arrived.
(and there may've been earlier ones). So the TRP angle is not a problem. 
Sadly, Auchinleck's comment is not annotated by the editor. The mystery
continues...

Best,

Adam.