BROOM E.

WILLIAM BROOME was born in Cheshire,

as is faid, of very mean parents. Of the place of his birth, or the first part of his life, I have not been able to gain any intelligence. He was educated upon the foundation at Eton, and was captain of the school a whole year, without any vacancy, by which he might have obtained a fcholarship at King's College. Being by this delay, fuch as is faid to have happened very rarely, fuperannuated, he was fent to St. John's College by the contributions of his friends, where he obtained a fmall exhibition.

At his college he lived for fome time in the fame chamber with the well-known Ford, by whom I have formerly heard him defcribed as a contracted scholar and a mere verfifier, unacquainted with life, and unfkilful in converfation. His addiction to metre was then fuch, that his companions familiarly called him Poet. When he had opportunities of mingling with mankind, he cleared himself, as Ford likewife owned, from great part of his fcholaftick

ruft.

VOL. XI.

He appeared early in the world as a tranflator of the "lads" into profe, in conjunction with Ozell and Oldfworth. How their feveral parts were diftributed is not known. This is the tranflation of which Ozell beafted as fuperior, in Teland's opinion, to that of Pope: it has long fince vanished, and is now in no danger from the criticks.

He was introduced to Mr. Pope, who was then visiting Sir John Cotton at Madingley near Cambridge, and gained fo much of His efteem, that he was employed, I believe, to make extracts from Euftathius for the notes to the tranflation of the "Iliad;" and in the volumes of poetry published by Lintot, commonly called "Pope's Mifcellanies," many of his early pieces were inferted.

Pope and Broome were to be yet more closely connected. When the fuccefs of the Iliad” gave encouragement to a verfion of the "Odyffey," Pope, weary of the toil, called Fenton and Broome to his affiftance; and taking only half the work upon himfelf, divided the other half between his partners, giving four books to Fenton, and eight to Broome.. Fenton's books I have enumerated in his Life; to the lot of Broome fell the fecond, fixth, eighth, eleventh, twelfth, fixteenth, eighteenth, and twenty-third, together with the burthen of writing all the notes.

As this tranflation is a very important event in poetical hiftory, the reader has a right to know upon. what grounds I cftablifh my narration. That the verfion was not wholly Pope's, was always known; he had mentioned the affiftance of two friends in his propofals, and at the end of the work fome account is given by Broome of their different parts,

which however mentions only five books as written by the coadjutors; the fourth and twentieth by Fenton; the fixth, the eleventh, and eighteenth, by himself; though Pope, in an advertisement prefixed afterwards to a new volume of his works, claimed only twelve. A natural curiofity, after the real conduct of fo great an undertaking, incited me once to enquire of Dr. Warburton, who told me, in his warm language, that he thought the relation given in the note "a lie;" but that he was not able to ascertain the feveral shares. The intelligence which Dr. Warburton could not afford me, I ob tained from Mr. Langton, to whom Mr. Spence had imparted it.

The price at which Pope purchased this affiftance was three hundred pounds paid to Fenton, and five hundred to Broome, with as many copies as he wanted for his friends, which amounted to one hundred more. The payment made to Fenton I know not but by hearfay; Broome's is very diftinctly told by Pope, in the notes to the Dunciad.

It is evident, that, according to Pope's own eftimate, Broome was unkindly treated. If four books could merit three hundred pounds, eight and all the notes, equivalent at leaft to four, had certainly a right to more than fix.

Broome probably confidered himself as injured, and there was for fome time more than coldness between him and his employer. He always fpoke of Pope as too much a lover of money, and Pope purfued him with avowed hoftility; for he not only named him difrefpectfully in the "Dunciad," but quoted him more than once in the "Bathos," as a

prodment in the Am of Sinking," and is his ernmention of the form inds of poets diftinguiled for the profound, se reckons Broone among ← the Parrots who repent mother's wards it fuch a *bouck ode the tits un ko taurowa” I have been told the terve tervis reconciled; but I am aftalt their peace vas without fer Chip. He afterwards publised & 100cellery of Poems, alles is bukmed, with corrects, in the late compitatioc.

He never role to a very high g the Church. He was one time rector of Station in Suffolk, where he married a wealthy widow; and afterwards, when the King vifted Cambridge (1728), became Doctor of Laas. He was (1788) prefented by the Crown to the rectory of Paham in Norfolk, which he held with Oakley Magna in Suffolk, given him by the Lord Cornwallis, to whom he was chaplain, and who added the vicarage of Ere in Suffolk; he then refigned Pulham, and retained the other two.

Towards the clote of his life he grew again poetical, and amuted himself with tranflating Odes of Anacreon, which he published in the "Gentleman's "Magazine," under the name of Chefter.

He died at Bath, November 10, 1745, and was buried in the Abbey Church.

Of Broome, though it cannot be faid that he was a great poet, it would be unjuft to deny that he was an excellent verfifier; his lines are fmooth and fonorous, and his diction is felect and elegant. His rhymes are fometimes unfuitable; in his "Melancholy," he makes breath rhyme to birth in one place, and to earth in another. Thofe faults occur but feldom;

and

and he had fuch power of words and numbers as
fitted him for tranflation; but, in his original works,
recollection feems to have been his business more
than invention. His imitations are fo apparent, that
it is part of his reader's employment to recall the
verfes of fome former poet. Sometimes he copies
the most popular writers, for he feems fcarcely to
endeavour at concealment; and fometimes he picks
up fragments in obfcure corners.
His lines to Fenton,

Serene, the fting of pain thy thoughts beguile,
And make afflictions objects of a smile,

brought to my mind fome lines on the death of Queen Mary, written by Barnes, of whom I should not have expected to find an imitator;

But thou, O Mufe! whofe fweet nepenthean tongue
Can charm the pangs of death with deathless fong;
Canft ftinging plagues with easy thoughts beguile,
Make pains and tortures objects of a smile.

To detect his imitations were tedious and useless. What he takes he feldom makes worfe; and he cannot be justly thought a mean man whom Pope chofe for an affociate, and whofe co-operation was confidered by Pope's enemies as fo important, that he was attacked by Henley with this ludicrous diftich:

Pope came off clean with Homer; but they fay
Broome went before, and kindly fwept the way.