63.
[652] The second and third earls are passed over by Johnson. It was the fourth earl who, as Charles Boyle, had been Bentley's antagonist. Of this controversy a full account is given in Lord Macaulay's Life of Atterbury.
[653] The fifth earl, John. See ante, i. 185, and iii. 249.
[654] See ante, i. 9, and iii. 154.
[655] See ante, ii. 129, and iii. 183.
[656] The young lord was married on the 8th of May, 1728, and the father's will is dated the 6th of Nov. following. 'Having,' says the testator, 'never observed that my son hath showed much taste or inclination, either for the entertainment or knowledge which study and learning afford, I give and bequeath all my books and mathematical instruments [with certain exceptions] to Christchurch College, in Oxford.' CROKER.
[657] His Life of Swift is written in the form of Letters to his Son, the Hon. Hamilton Boyle. The fifteenth Letter, in which he finishes his criticism of Gulliver's Travels, affords a good instance of this 'studied variety of phrase.' 'I may finish my letter,' he writes, 'especially as the conclusion of it naturally turns my thoughts from Yahoos to one of the dearest pledges I have upon earth, yourself, to whom I am a most
Affectionate Father,
'ORRERY.'
See ante, i. 275-284, for Johnson's letters to Thomas Warton, many of which end 'in studied varieties of phrase.'
[658] The Conquest of Granada was dedicated to the Duke of York. The conclusion is as follows:--'If at any time Almanzor fulfils the parts of personal valour and of conduct, of a soldier and of a general; or, if I could yet give him a character more advantageous that what he has, of the most unshaken friend, the greatest of subjects, and the best of masters; I should then draw all the world a true resemblance of your worth and virtues; at least as far as they are capable of being copied by the mean abilities of,
'Sir,
'Your Royal Highness's
'Most humble, and most
'Obedient servant,
'J. DRYDEN.'
[659] On the day of his coronation he was asked to pardon four young men who had broken the law against carrying arms. 'So long as I live,' he replied, 'every criminal must die.' 'He was inexorable in individual cases; he adhered to his laws with a rigour that amounted to cruelty, while in the framing of general rules we find him mild, yielding, and placable.' Ranke's Popes, ed. 1866, i. 307, 311.
[660] See ante, iii. 239, where he discusses the question of shooting a highwayman.
[661] In The Rambler, No. 78, he says:--'I believe men may be generally observed to grow less tender as they advance in age.'
[662] He passed over his own Life of Savage.
[663] 'When I was a young fellow, I wanted to write the Life of Dryden' Ante, iii. 71.
[664] See ante, p. 117.
[665] 'I asked a very learned minister in Sky, who had used all arts to make me believe the genuineness of the book, whether at last he believed it himself; but he would not answer. He wished me to be deceived for the honour of his country; but would not directly and formally deceive me. Yet has this man's testimony been publickly produced, as of one that held Fingal to be the work of Ossian.' Johnson's Works, ix. 115.
[666] A young lady had sung to him an Erse song. He asked her, 'What is that about? I question if she conceived that I did not understand it. For the entertainment of the company, said she. But, Madam, what is the meaning of it? It is a love song. This was all the intelligence that I could obtain; nor have I been able to procure the translation of a single line of Erse.' Piozzi Letters, i. 146. See post, Oct. 16
[667] This droll quotation, I have since found, was from a song in honour of the Earl of Essex, called Queen Elisabeth's Champion, which is preserved in a collection of Old Ballads, in three volumes, published in London in different years, between 1720 and 1730. The full verse is as follows:--
'Oh! then bespoke the prentices all, Living in London, both proper and tall, In a kind letter sent straight to the Queen, For Essex's sake they would fight all. Raderer too, tandaro te, Raderer, tandorer, tan do re.'
BOSWELL.
[668] La Condamine describes a tribe called the Tameos, on the north side of the river Tiger in South America, who have a word for three. He continues:--'Happily for those who have transactions with them, their arithmetic goes no farther. The Brazilian tongue, a language spoken by people less savage, is equally barren; the people who speak it, where more than three is to be expressed, are obliged to use the Portuguese.' Pinkerton's Voyages, xiv. 225.
[669] 'It was Addison's practice, when he found any man invincibly wrong, to flatter his opinions by acquiescence, and sink him yet deeper in absurdity. This artifice of mischief was admired by Stella; and Swift seems to approve her admiration.' Johnson's Works, vii. 450. Swift, in his Character of Mrs. Johnson (Stella), says:--'Whether this proceeded from her easiness in general, or from her indifference to persons, or from her despair of mending them, or from the same practice which she much liked in Mr.