BOYCE BOYD. 



653 



shavings of box-wood has been found to relieve the 

 toothache, and to be useful in other complaints ; and 

 the powdered leaves destroy worms. 



BOYCE, William, an eminent musical composer in 

 the last century. He was a native of London, and 

 was a pupil of Dr Maurice Greene, organist of St 

 Paul's, who at his death bequeathed him a valuable 

 collection of church music, which served as the basis 

 of a splendid publication of that class by Boyce in 3 

 vols. folio. Notwithstanding he was afflicted with 

 deafness, which increased to such a degree as to ren- 

 der him almost insensible of sound, he acquired an 

 uncommon degree of skill in his profession. In 1736, 

 he was chosen organist to the church of St Michael 

 Cornhill ; and was also appointed organist and com- 

 poser to the Chapel Royal. On his setting to music 

 an ode performed at the installation of his patron the 

 duke of Newcastle, as Chancellor of Cambridge uni- 

 versity in 1749, he was honoured with the degree of 

 doctor of music ; and, in 1757, succeeded Dr Greene, 

 as master of the king's band. He was the author of 

 many admired pieces for the theatre, and for other 

 places of public entertainment ; but his fame chiefly 

 depends on his sacred compositions. Dr Burney ob- 

 serves, that " there is an original and sterling merit 

 in his productions, founded as much upon the study 

 of our own old masters as on the best models of other 

 countries, that gives to all his works a peculiar stamp 

 and character of his own for strength, clearness, and 

 facility, without any mixture of styles or extraneous 

 ornaments." Dr Boyce died of the gout in 1779, at 

 the age of sixty-eight, and was interred in St Paul's 

 cathedral. 



BOYD, Mark Alexander, a literary character of 

 some eminence, was the son of Robert Boyd of Pink- 

 hill,and was born at Galloway in 1562. He was educat- 

 ed at Glasgow under the superintendence of his uncle, 

 the archbishop of that see, and was equally conspicu- 

 ous for the quickness of his parts and the turbulence 

 of his disposition. Quitting study, he went to Paris, 

 where he reduced himself to distress by gaming, and 

 then resuming his studies with scholastic ardour, re- 

 paired to Bourges, to attend the celebrated civilian 

 C ujacius. To this professor he recommended himself 

 by a compliance with his taste in Latin poetry, which 

 gave a preference to Ennius and the elder Latin 

 poets. After leading a wandering life on the conti- 

 nent for fourteen years, he returned to Scotland, and 

 died at his father's seat at Pinkhill in 1601. He has 

 received much the same eulogium in regard to graces 

 of person, powers of mind, and various accomplish- 

 ments, as the admirable Crichton. He left various 

 MSS. on subjects political, critical, and patriotic, but 

 is popularly known only by his " Epistolae Heroidis," 

 and his " Hymni," published in the " Delicirc Poeta- 

 rum Scotorum." They exhibit some tolerable imita- 

 tions of Ovid, but otherwise display more learning 

 than poetry. 



BOYD, Hugh Macauly, a writer who claims notice 

 here as one of the reputed authors of " Junius' Let- 

 ters." He was born in 1746, being the second son of 

 a respectable Irish gentleman, who had him educated 

 at Trinity college, Dublin. He came to London un- 

 der the patronage of Mr Richard Burke, and soon 

 became known both to the fashionable and literary 

 world. He married a lady of good fortune, but was 

 reduced by extravagance to the necessity of accept- 

 ing the place of secretary to lord Macartney, whom 

 he accompanied to Madras, where he died in 1791. 

 Some political tracts which he published in the news- 

 papers, written after the Letters of Junius, and in 

 imitation of them, formed the sole ground for attribut- 

 ing those celebrated epistles to his very inadequate 

 pen. These being collected and published in two 

 vols. 8vo, soon dispelled the illusion, which only 



proves the industry which certain enthusiastic theo- 

 rists will occasionally use to deceive both themselves 

 and other people. 



BOYD, Robert, of Trochrig,an eminent divine of the 

 seventeenth century, was born at Glasgow in 1578. 

 He studied philosophy and divinity at the university 

 of Edinburgh, and afterwards went to France, where 

 he taught various departments of literature in the 

 schools of Tours and Montauban. In 1604, he was 

 ordained pastor of the church at Verteuil, and in 1C06 

 he was appointed one of the professors in the uni- 

 versity of Saumur. Boyd also discharged the duties 

 of a pastor in the church at the same town, and, soon 

 after, became professor of divinity. At length, king 

 James having heard of his worth and talents, offered 

 him the principalship of the university of Glasgow. 

 The duties of principal in that college were not con- 

 fined even to those connected with that institution. 

 He was required to teach theology on one day, and 

 Hebrew and Syriac the next, alternately ; but this 

 was not all. The temporalities of the rectory and 

 vicarage of Govan had been annexed to it, under the 

 condition that the principal should preach on Sunday 

 in the church of that parish. Under these circum- 

 stances, it could not be expected that Mr Boyd could 

 have much leisure to premeditate his lectures. Wod- 

 row informs us, that he did not read them, " but 

 uttered all in a continued discourse, without any hesi- 

 tation, and with as much ease and freedom of speech, 

 as the most eloquent divine is wont to deliver his 

 sermons in his mother tongue." It will be remem- 

 bered, that the prelections were then delivered in 

 Latin, and principal Bailie, who studied under Mr 

 Boyd, mentions, that, at a distance of thirty years, the 

 tears, the solemn vows, and the ardour of the desires 

 produced by the principal's Latin prayers, was still 

 fresh in his memory. 



From the assimilation which was then rapidly tak- 

 ing place to the episcopal form of church government, 

 Mr Boyd felt his situation peculiarly unpleasant. He 

 could not acquiesce in the decisions of the Perth as- 

 sembly, and it could not be expected that he would be 

 allowed to retain his office under any other condition 

 than that of compliance. He, therefore, preferred 

 voluntarily resigning his office, and retiring to his 

 country residence. Soon after this period, he was 

 appointed principal of the university of Edinburgh, 

 and one of the ministers of that city. His last ap- 

 pointment was to Paisley. He died on the 5th of 

 January, 1627, in the forty-ninth year of his age. 

 Of his works, few of which are printed, the largest 

 and best known is his " Pralectiones in Episto- 

 lam ad Ephesios," printed in 1652, folio. An 

 elaborate life of him is to be found among the Wod- 

 row MS. 



BOYD, Zachary, a Scottish divine of the seventeenth 

 century, was born before the year 1590, and was de- 

 scended from the family of the Boyds of Pinkell in 

 Carrick (Ayrshire). He was cousin to Robert Boyd 

 of Trochrig. He received the rudiments of his edu- 

 cation at the school of Kilmarnock, and passed 

 through an academical course in the college of Glas- 

 gow. About the year 1607, he had finished his 

 studies in his native country. He then went abroad, 

 and studied at the college of Saumur in France, un- 

 der his relation, Robert Boyd. He was appointed a 

 regent in this university, in 1611, and is said to have 

 been offered the principalship, which he declined. 

 According to his own statement, he spent sixteen 

 years in France, during four of which he was a 

 preacher of the gospel. In consequence of the per- 

 secution of the protestants, he was obliged, in 1621, 

 to return to his native country. On his reaching 

 Scotland, he lived successively under the protection 

 of Sir William Scott of Elie, and of the marquis of 



