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many defects in most men, he too much neglected what they said or did. Of all his passions, his pride was most predominant; which a moderate exercise of ill fortune might have corrected and reformed, and which was by the hand of heaven strangely punished, by bringing his destruction upon him by two things that he most despised, the people and Sir Harry Vane.* In a word, the epitaph, which Plutarch records that Sylla wrote for himself, may not be unfitly applied to him, that no man did ever exceed him, either in doing good to his friends, or in doing mischief to his enemies;' for his acts of both kinds were most notorious."

Cottington took pains with the other, to bring them about from their violence against the prerogative: and I am told, the first of them is promised my Lord's place at York, in case his sickness continues." (Westm. 5 Aug. 1629.)

*Sir Henry Vane had not far to look back to the time, that the Earl had with great earnestness opposed his being made Secretary, and prevailed for above a month's delay; which, though it was done with great reason and justice by the Earl on the behalf of an old fellow-servant and his very good friend, Sir John Coke (who was to be, and afterward was, removed to let him in) yet the justice to the one lessened not the sense of unkindness to the other: after which, or about the same time (which, it may be, made the other to be the more virulently remembered) being to be made Earl of Strafford, he would needs in that patent have a new creation of a barony, and was made Baron of Raby, a house belonging to Sir Henry Vane, and an honour he made account should belong to himself; which was an act of the most unnecessary provocation, though he contemned the man with marvellous scorn, that I have known, and I believe was the chief occasion of the loss of his head,'

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RICHARD BOYLE,

EARL OF CORK.*

[1566-1643.]

RICHARD BOYLE, distinguished in history by

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the title of The Great Earl of Cork,' was descended from a family, whose name before the Conquest was Biervelle. He was the youngest son of Mr. Roger Boyle of Herefordshire, by Joan daughter of Mr. Robert Naylor of Canterbury, where he was born in the year 1566. He was instructed by a Kentish clergyman in grammar-learning; and after having distinguished himself at Bene't College, Cambridge, by his great temperance, early rising, and indefatigable application, he became a student in the Temple.

His father dying when he was only ten years old, and his mother before he had attained the age of twenty, he found himself unable from his narrow circumstances to prosecute his studies, and therefore entered as clerk into the service of Sir Richard Manwood, Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, Finding however that this situation would not advance him in life, he determined to travel, and ac

AUTHORITIES. Budgell's Memoirs of the Boyles, and Coxe's History of Ireland.

cordingly embarked for Dublin in 1588, with fewer pounds in his pocket, than he afterward acquired thousands per ann. He was about two and twenty, and with a graceful person united all the accomplishments requisite to enable a young man to succeed in a country, which was at that period the scene of so much action. Accordingly, by drawing up memorials, cases, and answers, he rendered himself extremely useful to some of the principal persons employed in the government; and acquired at the same time a perfect knowledge of the state of public affairs, of which he well knew how to avail himself. In 1595, he married Joan, daughter and co-heiress of William Apsley, Esq. of Limerick, who had fallen in love with him; and by this connexion, though it unhappily terminated by her death in child-bed of her first child (born dead) in 1599, laid the foundation of his future success in life. She bequeathed to him her whole property, about 500l. per ann.

Some time afterward, Sir Henry Wallop of Nares, Sir Robert Gardiner Chief Justice of the King'sBench, Sir Robert Dillarn Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas, and Sir Richard Bingham Chief Commissioner of Connaught, filled with envy at certain pur chases which he had made in the province, represented to Queen Elizabeth that he was in the pay of the King of Spain, who had supplied him with

* His whole stock was "271. 3s. in money and two tokens, which my mother (he says) had formerly given me, viz. a diamond ring, which I ever have since and still do wear, and a bracelet of gold worth about 107.; a taffety doublet cut with and upon taffety; a pair of black velvet breeches laced; a new Milan fustian suit laced, and cut upon taffety; two cloaks; competent linen and necessaries, with my rapier and dagger."

money upon the occasion; and that he was strongly suspected of being a Papist in his heart,' with many other malicious suggestions to his disadvantage. Before he could take shipping, however, for England to justify himself, the rebellion in Munster broke out; and all his lands were laid waste in the general ravage. In this distress, he retook possession of his former chamber in the Middle Temple, for the purpose of resuming his studies in the law till the disturbances should be suppressed. When the Earl of Essex was nominated Lord Deputy of Ireland, Mr. Boyle, on the recommendation of Mr. Antony Bacon, was graciously received by his Lordship: but Wallop, at that time Treasurer of the country, knowing that he had in his custody complete evidences of his official malversations, renewed his former complaints against him to the Queen ; upon which, he was suddenly committed close prisoner to the Gate-House. And although, upon the examination of his papers, nothing appeared to his prejudice, his confinement lasted till his noble patron had for two months occupied his new government. At length he, with much difficulty, obtained the favour of the Queen's attendance at his examination; when having fully answered every charge alleged against him, and given a short statement of his conduct from his first settling in Ireland, he concluded with laying before the councilboard the machinations of his chief enemy, Sir Henry Wallop; on which, her Majesty broke out into these words: "By God's death! these are but inventions against this young man; and all his sufferings are for being able to do us service, and these complaints urged to forestall him therein. But we find him to be a man fit to be employed by ourselves,

and we will employ him in our service; and Wallop, and his adherents, shall know that it shall not be in the power of any of them to wrong him: neither shall Wallop be our Treasurer any longer." She then issued orders not only for Mr. Boyle's present release, but also for paying all the charges and fees incident to his confinement, and gave him her hand to kiss before the whole assembly. A few days afterward, she constituted him Clerk of the Council of Munster, and recommended him to Sir George Carew.* In that capacity he attended the Lord President in all his employments, and in 1601 was despatched to the Queen with the news of the victory gained near Kinsale, over the Irish and their Spanish auxiliaries. "I made (says he) a speedy expedition to the court, for I left my Lord President at Shannon Castle near Cork on Monday morning about two o'clock: and the next day, being Tuesday, I delivered my packet, and supped with Sir Robert Cecil, being then principal Secretary of State, at his house in the Strand; who after supper held me in discourse till two of the clock in the morning, and by seven that morning † called upon me to attend him to the court, where he presented me to her Majesty in her bed-chamber."

* Subsequently Earl of Totness, then Lord President of Munster, who became his steadfast friend. This clerkship of the Council, he remarks, was the second rise, which God gave to his fortune.'

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+"Poor Budgell," says Chalmers, "who when he wrote his 'Memoirs of the Boyles' was out of humour with all mankind, and especially with ministers of state, observes upon this early visit; If we reflect upon the hours our ministers keep at present, we shall be the less surprised to find, that our affairs are not managed altogether so successfully as in the days of Queen Elizabeth.""

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