BOY 



ec.ee, &c. publifhed by Mr. Nichols, vol. ii.) it appears, 

 that the former laid the dcfign of the celebrated book, in 

 anfwer to Bentley's difllrtation, wrote above half of it, re- 

 vifed a good part of the reft, and tranfcribcd the whole. 

 Upon the death of his father, Mr. Boyle quitted the uiii- 

 verfity and entered into public life. He was chofen as a 

 member of the houfe of commons in 1700; and when his 

 brother Lionel died in 170.;, he fiicceeded to the title of 

 the earl of Orrery. For hi- fervices in the army, he was 

 elefted, in lyoy, one of the knights' companions of the mod 

 ancient order of the thilUe ; and as a niajor-genenil, to which 

 rank he was advanced in 1 7O';, he dilUnguifhed himfelf at 

 the battle of the \^'ood in Flanders. He afterwards rc- 

 fided for fome time at Bniflels, as the queen's envoy to the 

 ftates of Brabant and Flanders : and for his faithful dif- 

 cbarge of this truft, he was raifed to the dignity of a Bri- 

 tilh peer. On the acceflfion of George I. he received addi- 

 tional honours ; but during tlie abl'ence of the king at 

 Hanover in 17 16, his regiment was taken from him : upon 

 which he refigned his poll of lord of the bed-chamber, and 

 withdrew frt)m public affairs. When Layer's plot broke 

 out, he was iufpetted by the government, and committed 

 to the tower, whence, after being confined 6 months, he 

 was firit liberated by bail, and at length dilcharged. From 

 this time he amnfed himfelf with his library and philofophi- 

 cal apparatus, till his death, which happened in Augull 

 1 73 I. He was much efteemed for his domeftic and focial 

 qualities ; and refpcdled for his talents and literary attain- 

 ments. He was the author of a comedy, entitled " As 

 you find it," and alfo of fome fongs and occafional poems ; 

 but his favourite ftudles were of a different kind. The af- 

 tronomical inifrument called an " orrery," and firft in- 

 vented by Rowley, whom he patronized, derived its name 

 from his title. See Orrkry. Biog. Brit. 



Boyle, John, earl of Cork and Orrery, only fon of 

 Charles, fourth earl of Orren^, by lady Cecil, daughter of 

 the earl of Exeter, was born in 1707, and for his early edu- 

 cation entrulled to the care of Mr. Fenton, the i)oet. From 

 Wellminllcr fchool, whither he had been ient at a proper 

 age, he removed to Chrill-church college, Oxford. As an 

 iiillance of his filial piety, whicli does him honour, it is re- 

 lated, that when his father was committed to the Tower, he 

 earnclUy intreated to be confined with liim ; bat this indul- 

 gence was rcfufed. Soon after the completion of his 3 ill 

 year, in J 7 28, he married lady Harriet Hamilton, the 

 youngell daughter of George, earl of Orkney. A diffenfion 

 whiclj occurred between the two earls produced a temporary 

 milunderftanding between the earl of Orrery and his fon. 

 This mifunderllanding is faid to have originated in lord 

 Boyle's refufal to fuffer his wife to fit at table with his 

 father's miftrcfs. However this he, the fon's coiidufl on the 

 occafion, and in a lltuation peculiarly delicate and trying, re- 

 " fleClcd great honour on his judgment and temper. Although 

 a reconciliation had been effcfted between the father and the 

 fon, yet the latter found reafon to regret theirdiffenlion ; for 

 under the influence of a prejudice haftily conceived, the earF 

 had made his will, and bequeathed his valuable library, con- 

 filling of above io,ooo volumes, with the exception of the 

 journals of the houfe of peers, and books relating to the 

 Englifli hillory and conllitution, bequeathed to his fon, and 

 a fine colleflion of philolophical initrumencs, to the college 

 of Chriil -church. After tlieir reconciliation, he determined 

 to alter his will, and had lent for his attorney' with this view ; 

 but the fuddennefs of his deceafe prevented the execution of 

 his jull dcfign. Tiie young lord, however, behaved on the 

 occafion with a filial piety and generofity, which entail fin- 

 gular liflnour on his memory. For though his father had 



BOY 



died confideraSly in debt, and had left legacies to a Iarp;e 

 amount to perfons who were no relations, he took his debts 

 upon himfelf, paid the legacies, and fcnt the books and ma- 

 tiiematical indrumcnts, witiiin the limited time, to Chrill- 

 church. The lofs of his father, aggravated by the circum- 

 ftances now recited, made a deep imprellion upon his mind, 

 and was fuccecded by a fit of illnefs, which endangered his 

 life. Of the acutenefs of his feelings we may form fome 

 judgment by the following lines addrtlfed to a friend, in re- 

 turn for a confolatory letter received by him at Bath, and 

 cnclofing 3 copy of verfes, which exhorted him to difpel his 

 grief by poetry, and to (hew that Batli could infpire as well 

 as Tunbridge, where, in the preceding year, he had wriltca 

 fome humourous verfes. 



" Nor Bath, nor Tunbridge, can my lays infpire, 

 Nor radiant beauty make me Itrike the lyre j 

 Far from the bufy crowd 1 fit forlorn, 

 And figli in fecret, and in filence mourn ; 

 Nor of my anguifh ever find an end ; 

 I weep a father, but I've lofl a friend." 

 Upon the recovery of his health and fpirits, he took his 

 feat in the houfe of peers ii; January i-j^-., a;id diftinguilhcd 

 himfelf by his oppofition to iir Robert Walpole's adminillra- 

 tion, and particu'arly by his fpeech agalnll the mutiny bill, 

 and a Handing army, wh'ch was much applauded. However, 

 the delicacy of his health, his love of retirement, and the nc- 

 ccfilt y of occafional refidence in Ireland, precluded him from 

 a regular attendance on his parliamentary duty. During his 

 refidence in Ireland, he became acquainted with dean Swift, 

 who profeffcd a high regard for him, and introduced him to 

 the friendfliip of Mr. Pope. Upon his return to England, 

 '" I733> 1'^ retired to his feat at Marflon in Somcrfelfhire, 

 and amufed himfelf in building, planting, and improving both 

 his eftate and h;s library. In 17 J7 he took a houfe in town, 

 tor the convenience of iuperintending the education of his 

 fons at Wedminfter fchool. Having loft his firft lady in 

 1733, he married a fecond wife in 1738 ; and with both he 

 enjoyed the moft uninterrupted ftate of domeftic felicity. 

 In 17:9 he publiftied a new ediiion, in 2 vohimes 8vo. of 

 the dramatic works of his great grandfather, Roger, earl of 

 Orrery, and, in i 742, his ftate letters in one volume foho. I'he 

 fii ft of hisown performances, which was Imitations of the firft 

 and fifth odes of the firft book of Horace, with remarks on 

 the peculiar excellencies of this poet, and on the tranflations 

 of llacier and Sanadon, appeared in i74i,fo!. In i743liis 

 lordftiip was prelentcd, by the univerfity of Oxford, with the 

 honorary degree of doftor of civil law, and he was hkewife 

 eleded a fellow of the Royal Society. In 1746 he removed 

 to Calcdon in Ireland, where he refided, with little inter- 

 miflion, till the year 1750; employing his intervals ofleifure 

 in laymg out gardens and plantations, and in various fub- 

 ftant'.al and ornamental improvements. On his return ta 

 Marllon, he purfued thofe alterations and improvements 

 wb.ich he had begun at a former period. In the mean while, 

 the employment of his winter-evenings was his " Tranflation 

 of the Letters of Pliny the Younger, with obfervations on 

 each letter, and an eitay on Pliny's .life," which was pub- 

 lilhed at London in 1751, in 2 volumes 410. and fince re- 

 printed in Svo. This work was well received, and efta- 

 bliftied the reputation of the author as a polite fcholar ; and 

 it would have Hill retained its character as a ftandard work 

 of the kind, if it had not fuffcred by the fupertor elegance of 

 Mr. Mehnoth's tranllation. In the fame year appeared his 

 " Remarks on the hfe and writings of 13r. Swift ;" in a 

 feries of Letters addrelFcd to his fecond fon ; which, abound- 

 ing with popular anecdotes, met with a very rapid fale, 

 though it gave occafion to many ftriclures and attacks, on 



?cc'ou-il 



