BOO 



ai-(3ent zeal for his countfy." In private life, he was a man 

 of ftridl piety, and of gre<it worth, honour, and humanity. 

 His works were pubhfiicd in 1694, in one volume 8vo. They 

 confift chiefly of fpcechts made by him in parliament, 

 prayers ufed by his lordlhip in his family, fome fhort political 

 traits, and the cafe of William carl of Dcvondiire. Biog. 

 Brit. 



BoofH, Barton, an applauded tragic aflor, was dc- 

 fcended from an ancient and rcfpeftable family in Ijancafhh-e, 

 born in ifi8r, and educated under Dr. Bulby at Weftmin- 

 fter fchool. Whilft he was at fchool, he exhibited early 

 indications of tliofe talents which qualified him for his fntnre 

 prof^-dion ; as, befides his fondnefs for Latin poetry, he was 

 dirtingniifhed by the pfrace and energy with whicli he recited 

 ftveral pafl'ages feleited from it and committed to memory. 

 Flattered by the applaufe v,^hich he received in afting a part 

 in a Latin play, performed at fchool, he acquired, or at 

 leaft indulged, an inclination for the llage ; and, eloping 

 from fchool, at the age of 17, very much to the difappoint- 

 rient and grief of his father, who defigned him for the uni- 

 veifity and the church, be accompanied the manager of an 

 Irifli theatre to Dublin. On the Dublin ftage he performed 

 fur three feafons withi'erydiftinguiflicd applaufe; recommend- 

 ing himfelf, particularly in tragedy, by a grave couji'enance, 

 good perfon, an air of dignitv in his afpedl and manner, a 

 line voice, and a very manly action. Belides, he fpoke very 

 jullly, his pronunciation was very correft, and the cadence 

 of his voice was extremely grateful to the ear. Tbe tliea- 

 trical reputation which he acquired in Ireland, determined 

 him to return to London in 1701 ; and being recommended 

 to Mr. Betterton, be was treated by him with kindnefs, and 

 had important parts afligned to him at his theati'e. After 

 the death of Betterton, he was received into the Drury-lane 

 company, and, by his acknowledged abilities, he rofe to the 

 higheft rank in his pi'ofeflion, as a tragic aftor. When Mr. 

 Addifon's famous play of Cato was iiitr-oduccd on the ilage 

 in 1 712, as it is faid, with political views, and to fupport 

 the caufe of the whigs, the pai-t of Cato was affigned to 

 Mr. Booth, and it was performed fo much to the fatisfac- 

 tion of the houfe, that both the whigs and tories of that 

 period concurred in bellowing upon him unufual and unpre- 

 cedented rewards. On this occafion, it is faid, that lord 

 Bolingbroke made him a pi'efent of fifty guineas from the 

 flage-box, and that the managers afterwards prefented him 

 with the fame donation. By the patronage and influence of 

 lord Bolingbroke, he was alTociated, in I 7 1 3, to the patentees 

 of the theatre ; and for twenty vears conducted himfelf, both 

 as a manager and an a£tor, v/ith fuch di!linguilhed integrity 

 and abilities, as to fecure the uninterrupted approbation of 

 the public. He married for his fecond wife, Mrs. Santlowe, 

 a favourite aftrefs, with whom he lived in great liar-mony, 

 and to whom, in token of his afi'ettion, lie left his whole 

 fortune, which, accordintj to his own declaration, amounted 

 to no more than two-thirds of what he liad received with 

 his wife upon the day of marriage. At length his health 

 began to decline ; but fnch was the high eltimation in which 

 he was held by the public, that his appearance drew toge- 

 ther crowded audiences, whenever the intervals of his dlf- 

 temper permitted him to tread the ftage. But his condi- 

 tutiou rapidly decayed, and he lunk under a complication 

 of difeafes, jNIay 10, 1733. He- was buried privately, ac- 

 cording to his own dircdtion, at the parifli church of Cow- 

 ley, near LTxbridge, the conftant place of his fumtrier retire- 

 ment, and no monument was erected to his memory. His 

 wife, however, who furvived him forty years, canfed a mo- 

 nument to be erefted in Weftminller abbey, in 1772. 



As an after, Booth diftinguiflied himfelf by that folemn 



BOO 



dignity, and rotundity of declamation, which fen-cd to 

 mark diftinftly the cadence and melody of the verfificati'Mi. 

 V/ithout altogether ncgleding the expriffion of paflion, his 

 manner feems to have been better fuited to poetical and fen- 

 timental parts, fuch as that of Cato, and the herots of 

 Rowe's tragedies, than to the higlily impaffioned. Gibber, 

 however, fays, that the itialler-piece of Booth was Othello, 

 a charatier abounding with fndden turns of pafTion, united 

 with elevated fentiment and ilriking imatjery. There, fays 

 Cibber, he was moie in character, and feemcd not more to 

 animate or pleafe himfelf in it than his fpeftators. To his 

 Cato he gives qualified pi-.iife, and he afcribes the repulatioa 

 acquired by it to fcveral temporary and incidental circum- 

 llances ; but in OthtUo, he adds, we may fee him in the 

 variety of nature. Mr. Viftor hutli taken pains to do 

 julliee to Mr. Booth, in oppofition to the hikewarni pnife 

 of Cibber, and to the relleftien contained in Pope's epithet 

 of " well-mouthtd," and in the fevcre illullration of it by 

 his right reverend annotator ; and yet, perhaps, Pope's epi- 

 thet, though invidiouily employed, gives a juil idea of his 

 general manner. 



As a niaii of letters. Booth appears in a refpe£table light ; 

 though hi? indolence prevented liitii from exerting himfelf 

 much in this way. He tranflated fome odes of Horace, and 

 wrote feveral fongs and otlier fmai! pieces of poetry, which 

 were well received ; and he compofed for the ftagc a nialk, 

 entitled " Dido and JKness." In his private charafter, he 

 was jull and upright ; ready to acknowledge and reward me- 

 rit wherever he found it ; fomewhat rough in his manner, 

 and hafly in his temper, but frank and fincere in declaring 

 his fentiments ; kind and libera! in his conduft as a manager ; 

 refpedful to his pai-ents ; affeftionate to his brother and 

 filler ; and polite and generous to his friends and acquaint- 

 ance. He was generally efteemed by thofe who knew liim ; 

 and his death was much regretted. Biog. Brit. 



Booth Biiy, in Geography, a town and bay of America, 

 on the coaft of Lincoln county, in the dillrift of Maine, 

 about two miics weft of Pemaquid point. N. lat. 43° 42'. 

 The bay llretches within tiie land about 12 miles, and re- 

 ceives two fmall ftreams. On it is a town, having 9^7 in- 

 habitants. 



BOOTIA, in BrAa?,y (De Neck). See Saponaria Oft- 

 chioJ'is. 



BOOTY, in the MU'itary Art, the moveables taken front 

 an enemy in war, which belonged to tiie conquerors. Among 

 the Greeks, the booty wasdivided incommon among the armv, 

 the general only claiming a larger fliare. The right of making 

 a diltribution of it was always confidered as one of the prero- 

 gatives of the general. During the Trojan war, it was laid 

 at his feet ; one part he referved for himfelf, and divided the 

 remainder eivher among the chiefs or the foldiers. As foou 

 as a victory was obtained, the armour was feized by the 

 conquerors, or great cominanders ; and the com.moi) foldiers 

 were permitted to gather the fpoils of the dead. Horn. 11. 

 r. ^'fi. i- 66. 



The Lacedemonians were forbidden to meddle with the 

 fpoils of the conquered ; and the Spartans had always 300 

 men appointed to obferve their aflions. Inftanccs, however, 

 occur of their dedicating part of their booty to the gods. 

 When any booty of great value was taken, the foldiers pre- 

 fented their general or commander with it ; but before t!ic 

 diltribution of the fpoils, they ielee^ed the bell as an olferiri.T 

 to the gods. Eight hundred yeais after the Troian war, the 

 generals regulated the partition of the fpoils taken from tiie 

 Perfians after the battle of I'lataja. They were lliarcd among- 

 the foldiers, after fetting apart a certain portion to decorate 

 the icmples of Greece, and decreeing proportionable re- 

 i" a waiidi 



