DEAR MRS. BOSWELL

For more than a century James Boswell has been overshadowed by the great Doctor Johnson about whom he wrote. This earnest, astute of his domestic life will do little to upset history's verdict. James Boswell is still the pompous buffoon who fluttered in Johnson's wake. By the time he got around to proposing marriage to his country cousin and childhood confidante, his suit had already been rejected by two of the better dowered young ladies of his set. His name was already connected with several unsavory love affairs, and though he was the eldest son, he was often threatened with disinheritance, by an irascible father, if he failed to settle down. Boswell never actually settled down- but he went through the motions of an affectionate husband and a good father- when he was at home. However, his ruling passion was the companionship of the ""Great"", and his favorite conversational gambit was the ageless ""as my friend--- said"".... A worthy portrait- which will however appeal largely to devotees and scholars- and the most thoroughgoing of these at that.