, earl of Cork and Orrery, a nobleman who added fresh lustre to his
, earl of Cork and Orrery, a nobleman
who added fresh lustre to his name and family, was the
only son and heir of Charles, the fourth earl of Orrery (the subject of the preceding article), by the lady Elizabeth
Cecil, daughter of John earl of Exeter. He was born on
the 2d of January, 1706-7, and put early under the tuition
of Mr. Fenton, the author of Mariamne, and one of the
coadjutors of Mr. Pope in the translation of the Odyssey,
by whom he was instructed in English; and carried through
the Latin tongue from the age of seven to thirteen. Between this amiable poet and his noble pupil a constant
friendship subsisted; and his lordship always spoke of him
after his decease, and often with tears, as “one of the
worthiest and modestest men that ever adorned the court
of Apollo.
” After passing through Westminster school,
lord Boyle was admitted as a nobleman at Christ-church,
Oxford, of which college, as we have already seen, his
father had been a distinguished ornament. One of his
first poetical essays was an answer to some verses by Mrs.
Howe, on an unsuccessful attempt to draw his picture.
, earl of Cork and Orrery, the second son of John, earl of Orrery,
, earl of Cork and Orrery, the second son of John, earl of Orrery, the subject of the last
article but one, was born in February 1730, and educated
at Westminster-school, where the masterly manner in
which he acted the part of Ignoramus, and spoke the epilogue, did great credit to his genius. In June 1748, he
was matriculated at Oxford, and December following was
admitted student of Christ-church, and proceeded regularly
to the degree of LL. B. In 1762 he succeeded his father in the earldom, his elder brother having deceased
three years before. In 1763, he was created LL. D. by
diploma, and at the same time appointed high steward of
the university of Oxford. He continued student of Christ
church on a faculty till his death, which happened at Marston house, Jan. 17, 1764. He is recorded as an author
from having contributed two papers to the “World,
”
drawn up with vivacity, elegance, and humour, and affording
a proof that if his life had been continued, he would have
added new literary honour to his celebrated name and family. These papers are No. 60 and 170.
nd” Henrietta,“a novel of considerable merit, 2 vols. 12mo; and, in 1760, with the assistance of the earl of Cork and Orrery, and Dr. Johnson, she published a translation
She published, in 1751, “The Memoirs of Harriot
Stuart,
” and, in In the
latter of these novels, the character of Arabella is the
counter-part of Don Quixote; and the work was very
favourably received. Dr. Johnson wrote the dedication to
the earl of Middlesex. In the following year she published
” Shakespeare illustrated,“in 2 vols. J2mo, to wnich she
afterwards added a third. This work consists of the novels
and histories on which the plays of Shakspeare are founded,
collected and translated from the original authors: to which
are added critical notes, censuring the liberties which
Shakspeare has generally taken with the stories on which
his plays are founded. In 1756, Mrs. Lennox published,
” The Memoirs of the Countess of Berci, taken from the
French,“2 vols. 12mo; and,
” Sully’s Memoirs,“translated, 3 vols. 4to; which have since been frequently reprinted in 8vo, and are executed with no small ability.
In 1757, she translated
” The Memoirs of Madame Maintenon.“In 1758, she produced
” Philander, a Dramatic
Pastoral,“and
” Henrietta,“a novel of considerable merit,
2 vols. 12mo; and, in 1760, with the assistance of the
earl of Cork and Orrery, and Dr. Johnson, she published a translation of
” Father Brumoy’s Greek Theatre,“3
vols. 4to; the merit of which varies materially in different
parts of the work. In 1760-1, she published a kind of
Magazine, under the name of the
” Ladies Museum,“which extended to two volumes, octavo, and seems to have
been rather an undertaking of necessity than choice. Two
years after, she published
” Sophia, a Novel,“2 vols.
12mo, which is inferior to her earlier performances; and,
after an interval of seven years, she brought out, at Covent-garden theatre,
” The Sisters, a Comedy,“taken
from her novel of Henrietta, which was condemned on the
first night of its appearance. In 1773, she furnished Drurylane theatre with a comedy, entitled,
” Old City Manners.“Her last performance, not inferior to any of her
former in that species of composition, was
” Euphemia, a
Novel, 17yO,“4 vols. 12mo. In 1775, we find Dr. Johnson assisting her in drawing up proposals for an edition of
her works, in 3 vols. 4to; but it does not appear to have
been published. Dr. Johnson had such an opinion of Mrs.
Lennox that, on one occasion, not long before his death,
he went so far as to pronounce her superior to Mrs. Carter, miss Hannah Moore, and miss Burney. Sir John
Hawkins has given a ludicrous account of the doctor’s celebration of the birth of Mrs. Lennox’s first literary child,
' The Life of Harriot Stuart.
” This, however, was certainly not her first production, for in 1747, she published
“Poems on several occasions,
” printed for Sam. Paterson.
She was then Miss Ramsay.