BOSWELL ON THE GRAND TOUR: Italy, Corsica, France, 1765-1766

Despite the time lag since the London Journal and some measure of disappointment in the intervening volumes, this stands a chance of repeating the success of the first. Our ebulient friend and expert traveler extends his tours in a volume delightful for its range from levity to gravity, as we see Boswell the man of affairs, both romantic and political. In Italy he tastes the pleasures of her cities. In Rome he enjoys dalliance and sensitive response to the impress of the Roman Church. In Venice his companion is Lord Mountstuart, who- on his own return to England- commends a former mistress in Siena to Boswell's attention. In Siena he intrigues with the lady only to weary of her archness and seek more serious enjoyment with a warm lady of delightful allegria. But go on he must, and in Corsies he finds a cause which brings his name to high places back home. For here as a worldly disciple of Rousseau, he seeks out the heroic Paoli, whose stature persuades Boswell that he is ready for the company of the great. Then home via France to an England where Johnson, Pitt and Walpole await him, he has a humorous fling with Rousseau's mistress, who is rumored to have given him lessons in love. All in all this is delectable reading, though some of the conservatives may still find it shocking.