ferre hactenus distuli, judicii tui acumen subveritus magis quam bipennis. Tandem aliquando Oden hanc ad te mitto sublimem, teneram, flebilem, suavem, qualem demum divinus (si Musis vacaret) scripsisset Gastrellus; adeo scilicet sublimem ut inter legendum dormire, adeo flebilem ut ridere velis. Cujus elegantiam ut melius inspicias, versuum ordinem et materiam breviter referam. Imus versus de duobus præliis decantatis. 2dus et 3us de Lotharingio, cuniculis subterraneis, saxis, ponto, hostibus, et Asia. 4tus et 5tus de catenis, sudibus, uncis, draconibus, tigribus et crocodilis. 6, 7us, gus, gus, de Gomorrha, de Babylone, Babele, et quodam domi suæ peregrino. Ious, aliquid de quodam Pocockio. 11, 12, de Syriâ, Solymå. 13, 14", de Hoseâ, et quercu, et de juvene quodam valde sene. 15, 16, de Etná et quomodo Etna Pocockio sit valde similis. 17, 18us, de tubâ, astro, umbrâ, flammis, rotis, Pocockio non neglecto. Cætera de Christianis, Ottomanis, Babyloniis, Arabibus, et gravissimâ agrorum melancholiâ; de Cæsare, Flacco, Nestore, et miserando juvenis cujusdam florentissimi fato, anno ætatis suæ centesimo præmaturè abrepti. Quæ omnia cum accuratè expenderis, necesse est ut Oden hanc meam admirandâ planè varietate constare fatearis. Subito ad Batavos proficiscor lauro ab illis donandus. Prius vero Pembrochienses voco ad certamen Poeticum 2. Vale.

'Illustrissima tua deosculor crura.

'E. SMITH.'

APPENDIX A (PAGE 18)

According to Oldmixon (Hist. of Eng. 1730, p. 227) Smith, on his death-bed, confessed the forgery, with great remorse, 'to the gentleman in whose house he died.' He mentioned, in particular, as his insertion, the passage where Hampden is compared to Cinna (Clarendon's Hist. 1826, iv. 94).

'The authenticity of Clarendon's History, though printed with the sanction of one of the first universities in the world, had not an unexpected manuscript been happily discovered, would, with the help of factious credulity, have been brought into question by the two lowest of all human beings, a scribbler for a party and a Commissioner of Excise.' JOHNSON, The Idler, No. 65.

[The first edition of Clarendon's History, published 1702-4, was not printed from the originals, but from a transcript. The editors (the Earl of Rochester, assisted by Dr. Aldrich and Bishop Sprat), 'in accordance with the discretion given them by Clarendon's will, softened

* 'Pro Flacco, animo paulo attentiore, scripsissem Marone. SMITH.

* Pembroke College, one of the smallest of the Oxford Colleges,

stands over against the great gate of Christ Church. It was not yet known as 'a nest of singing birds.' Boswell's Johnson, i. 75.

and altered a few expressions, but made no material changes in the text.' FIRTH, Dict. Nat. Biog. xxviii. 387. The actual MS. of the History seems to have reached the Bodleian from the hands of Dean Aldrich some time between 1711 and 1743. Macray's Annals of the Bodleian, 1890, p. 225 n. In 1826 the Clarendon Press published an edition of the History 'carefully collated with the original MSS. now in the Bodleian Library.' Preface, p. 5. Preface, p. 5. See also the preface to W. D. Macray's edition of the History (Clarendon Press, 1888).]

For Oldmixon see post, ADDISON, 83. Aldrich, Atterbury, and Smalridge were successively Deans of Smith's College, Christ Church. For Aldrich see ante, J. PHILIPS, 3; for Atterbury, post, POPE, 131; for Smalridge, post, SWIFT, 27. Atterbury is the Dean of The Tatler, No. 66, who never attempts your passions till he has convinced your reason. .. When he thinks he has your head he very soon wins your heart.' Smalridge is Favonius of Nos. 72, 114, who 'abounds with that sort of virtue and knowledge which makes religion beautiful.' See the Preface to vol. iv of The Tatler.

[For many references to Atterbury, Smalridge, and Francis Gastrell, one of the Christ Church canons (alluded to as 'Gastrellus' in Smith's Latin letter on p. 22), see Canon Stratford's letters to Edward Lord Harley published in the Portland MSS. vol. vii Hist. MSS. Comm. 1901. For Gastrell's character see also Hearne's Remains, ii. 239.]

[George Duckett of Hartham (not Gartham, as Johnson gives it) was an intimate friend and regular correspondent of Gilbert Walmesley, to whose early kindness Johnson pays such graceful tribute (SMITH, 71-6). Some unpublished letters written by Walmesley to Duckett between 1711-15, which the kindness of Mr. C. E. Doble has permitted me to examine, very much bear out Johnson's remarks on Walmesley's character (SMITH, 73, 74). On Jan. 1, 1715, he writes:-'I see Capta Ragg's (SMITH, 44) Works are printed together..., with a hasty imperfect account of the author wrote by Oldisworth' (SMITH, 2).]

2

3

DUKE'

F Mr. RICHARD DUKE I can find few memorials. He was bred at Westminster and Cambridge; and Jacob3 relates that he was some time tutor to the duke of Richmond.

He appears from his writings to have been not ill qualified for poetical compositions; and being conscious of his powers, when he left the university he enlisted himself among the wits. He was the familiar friend of Otway; and was engaged, among other popular names, in the translations of Ovid and Juvenal. In his Review, though unfinished, are some vigorous lines. His poems are not below mediocrity; nor have I found much in them to be praised.

With the wit he seems to have shared the dissoluteness of the times; for some of his compositions are such as he must have reviewed with detestation in his later days, when he published those Sermons which Felton has commended 8.

4 Perhaps, like some other foolish young men, he rather talked than lived viciously, in an age when he that would be thought a wit was afraid to say his prayers; and whatever might have

Duke is not included in Campbell's British Poets.

* He was born about 1659, entered Westminster School in 1670, was elected to a scholarship in Trinity College in 1675 and took his M.A. degree in 1682. Dict. Nat. Biog. According to a statement in N. &. 3 S. xii. 21 he was born on June 13, 1658; but see ib. p. 69.

Poetical Register, ii. 50. The Duke was the son of Charles II and the Duchess of Portsmouth. Evelyn wrote on Oct. 24, 1684 :-'What the Dukes of Richmond and St. Alban's will prove their youth does not yet discover; they are very pretty boys.' Diary, ii. 209.

• He contributed to vol. i. of Dryden's Misc.

5 Otway addressed to him a poem

been bad in the first part of his life, was surely condemned and reformed by his better judgement.

In 1683, being then master of arts, and fellow of Trinity 5 College in Cambridge, he wrote a poem on the marriage of the Lady Anne with George Prince of Denmark 1.

He took orders; and being made prebendary of Gloucester2, 6 became a proctor in convocation for that church, and chaplain to Queen Anne.

In 1710 he was presented by the bishop of Winchester to the 7 wealthy living of Witney in Oxfordshire 3, which he enjoyed but a few months. On February 10, 1710-11, having returned from an entertainment, he was found dead the next morning. His death is mentioned in Swift's Journal".

I

Eng. Poets, xxv. 166.

2 He took orders before the accession of James II. In 1687 he became Rector of Blaby in Leicestershire, and in 1688 Prebendary of Gloucester. Dict. Nat. Biog.

3 Luttrell (vi. 332) recorded on July 29, 1708, that 'the liveing of Whitney, of 700l. per ann. is given to Dr. Richard Duke.' In recording his death (ib. p. 690) he makes it worth 500l. per ann.

'Feb. 14, 1710-11. Dr. Duke

died suddenly two or three nights ago; he was one of the wits when we were children, but turned parson, and left it, and never writ farther than a prologue or recommendatory copy of verses. He had a fine living given him by the Bishop of Winchester about three months ago; he got his living suddenly, and he got his dying so too...

'Feb. 16. Atterbury and Prior went to bury poor Dr. Duke.' SWIFT, Works, ed. 1824, ii. 180, 182.

KING

1 WILLIAM KING was born in London in 1663, the son of

2

Ezekiel King, a gentleman. He was allied to the family

of Clarendon 2.

From Westminster-school, where he was a scholar on the foundation under the care of Dr. Busby 3, he was at eighteen elected to Christ-church, in 1681; where he is said to have prosecuted his studies with so much intenseness and activity that, before he was eight years standing, he had read over and made remarks upon twenty-two thousand odd hundred books and manuscripts *. The books were certainly not very long, the manuscripts not very difficult, nor the remarks very large; for the calculator will find that he dispatched seven a day, for every day of his eight years, with a remnant that more than satisfies most other students. He took his degree in the most expensive manner, as a grand compounder; whence it is inferred that he inherited a considerable fortune".

3 In 1688, the same year in which he was made master of arts', he published a confutation of Varillas's account of Wicliffe ; and,

I Johnson's chief authorities are Wood's Ath. Oxon. (iv. 666), [Biographia Britannica], and The Remains of Dr. William King, 1732. [In 1776 appeared King's Works with historical notes and memoirs by John Nichols.]

There are two other men of the same name mentioned in the Lives -the Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford (ante, DRYDEN, 187), and the Archbishop of Dublin (post, PARNELL, 7; SWIFT, 64).

King is not included in Campbell's British Poets.

• King's Remains, 1732, p. 8. He was related also to the Harcourts. He writes of 'my cousin Harcourt's fine pieces of Paolo Veronese.' King's Works, 1776, i. 261.

3 Ante, DRYDEN, 4.

4

8

Remains, p. 16, 'this appears from his loose papers, which he terms Adversaria, a specimen of which is given.

5A thousand stories which the ignorant tell and believe die away at once when the computist takes them in his gripe.' John. Letters, ii. 321. See also Boswell's Johnson, iv. 171, 204.

Candidates for all degrees who possess certain property must go out, as it is termed, Grand Compounder? In general the property had to be 'to the extent of £300 a year.' Oxford Calendar, 1833, p. 96. They paid higher fees. They were abolished in 1853.

'King's Remains, p. 2.

8

Reflections upon Mr. Varillas's History of Heresy, &c. It was as

According to the editor of King's serted that 'above 4,000 errors had