a kind of Flemish sloop.

**Boyer, Abel**, a well-known lexicographer and historiographer, born at Castres in France in 1664. Upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes, he went first to Geneva, and then to Franeker, where he finished his studies. Finally he came to England, where he soon acquired such a proficiency in the English language, that he became an author of considerable note, and was employed in writing several periodical and political works. He had for many years the principal management of a newspaper called the *Post-boy*; and he likewise published a monthly work entitled the *Political State of Great Britain*. He wrote a *Life of Queen Anne* in folio; a *History of William III.* in 3 vols. 8vo; and *Annals of the Reign of Queen Anne*, in 11 vols. 8vo. But he is best known by his *Dictionary and Grammar of the French Language*, which are still reckoned good in their kind. He died at Chelsea in 1729.

**Boyer, Alexis**, a distinguished French surgeon, was born on the 1st of March 1757, at Uzerches in the Limousin. His father was in the humble station of a tailor; and the son received the elements of a medical education in the shop of a barber-surgeon in a provincial town. His early talents induced his friends to procure his removal to Paris, where he had the good fortune to attract the notice of his two distinguished masters Louis and Dessault; and his unwearyed perseverance, his anatomical skill, and finally his dexterity as an operator, became so conspicuous, that at the age of thirty-seven he obtained the appointment of second surgeon to the Hôtel Dieu of Paris, and was elected professor of operative surgery in L'École de Santé. This latter appointment he soon exchanged for the chair of clinical surgery; a department in which his manual dexterity and his admirable lectures on surgical diseases gained him the highest reputation, and introduced him to extensive practice. Perhaps no French surgeon of his time thought or wrote with greater clearness and good sense than Boyer; and while his natural modesty made him distrustful of innovation, and somewhat tenacious of established modes of treatment, he was as judicious in his diagnosis, as cool and skilful in manipulating, as he was cautious in forming his judgment on individual cases.

In 1805 Napoleon nominated him imperial family surgeon; and after the brilliant campaigns of 1806-7, made him a member of the legion of honour, and conferred on him the title of Baron of the Empire, with a salary of 25,000 francs (L1,042). On the fall of Napoleon, the modest merits of Boyer secured him the favour of the succeeding sovereigns of France, and he was consulting-surgeon to Louis XVIII., to Charles X., and to Louis Philippe. In 1835 he succeeded Deschamps as surgeon-in-chief to the Hôpital de la Charité, and was chosen a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France; while various scientific, national, and foreign societies enrolled him in their lists. But honours and emoluments could not console Boyer for the loss of a beloved wife. From the period of her death his health began visibly to decline; and he terminated his mortal career on November 23, 1833, at the age of seventy-six.

Boyer was of a cheerful temper, unassuming and simple in his manners, and studied a genteel economy which enabled him to exhibit many traits of generosity to others. His two great works are, *Traité complet de l'Anatomie*, in 4 vols. 8vo, published in 1797-99; of which a fourth edition appeared in 1815; and *Traité des Maladies Chirurgicales, et des opérations qui leur conviennent*, in 11 vols. 8vo, 1814-26. Of this work a new edition called the 5th, with additions by M. Ph. Boyer, in 7 vols., was published in 1844-53. (r. s. t.)

**Boyer, Jean Baptiste**, an eminent French physician, born at Marseilles in 1693. He devoted a long life to the special investigation and treatment of contagious epidemics with a courage and success which have rarely been surpassed. On the last appearance of the plague in western Europe in 1720, he was one of the physicians sent from Paris by the government to succour the inhabitants of his native city, then visited by this great calamity. The fearless zeal and ability which he displayed on that occasion, procured him a pension and the title of physician in ordinary to the king. Much of his subsequent life was spent in similar expeditions, devoted to philanthropy, wherever pestilential epidemics prevailed; and the value of the services of Boyer were fully acknowledged at Paris, Trèves, Beauvais, Montagne, Brest, and at several places in the Spanish peninsula.

He died in 1768. His writings are not numerous; the best known are his good *Account of the Plague at Marseilles* in 1720, and his *Observations on the Epidemic that prevailed at Beauvais*, published at Paris in 1750. (r. s. t.)

**Boyle, Charles**, Earl of Orrery in Ireland, and Baron of Marston, in the county of Somerset, second son of Roger second Earl of Orrery, was born at Chelsea in 1676. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and soon distinguished himself by his learning and abilities. Like the first Earl of Orrery, he was an author, a soldier, and a statesman. He translated Plutarch's life of Lysander; and published an edition of the epistles of Phalaris, which engaged him in the famous controversy with Bentley. See Atterbury. He was three times member for the town of Huntington; and on the death of his brother, Lionel Earl of Orrery, in 1703, he succeeded to that title. He entered the army, and in 1709 was raised to the rank of major-general, and sworn one of her Majesty's privy-council. At the battle of the Wood he acted with distinguished bravery. He was appointed the queen's envoy to the states of Brabant and Flanders; and having discharged this trust with ability, he was created an English peer, as Baron of Marston, in Somersetshire. He received several additional honours in the reign of king George I.; but having had the misfortune to fall under the suspicion of the government he was committed to the Tower, where he remained six months, and was then admitted to bail. On a subsequent inquiry, it was found impossible to criminate him, and he was discharged. He died, after a slight illness, on the 28th of August 1731. To his tutor, Atterbury, he probably owed in some degree his relish for the writings of the ancients. Medicine likewise was one of his favourite studies. This peer also wrote a comedy, entitled *As you find it*; and after him was named the orrery, an astronomical instrument invented by Graham.

**Boyle, John**, Earl of Cork and Orrery, a nobleman distinguished for his literary attainments, was the only son of Charles Earl of Orrery, and was born January 2, 1707. He was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford; and was led by indifferent health, and many untoward accidents, to cultivate in retirement his talents for literature and poetry. Of these he has left several favourable specimens. He translated the *Letters of Pliny the Younger*, with various notes, for the use of his eldest son, published in 1751, 2 vols. 4to. He also published a *Life of Swift*, in several letters addressed to his second son; and *Memoirs of Robert Carv*, Earl of Monmouth, from a manuscript presented to him by Boyle, Richard, one of the greatest statesmen of the seventeenth century, generally styled the Great Earl of Cork, was the youngest son of Mr Roger Boyle, and was born at Canterbury, October 3, 1566. He studied at Benet College, Cambridge, and afterwards became a student in the Middle Temple. Having lost his parents, and being unable to support himself in the prosecution of his studies, he became clerk to Sir Richard Manwood, chief baron of the exchequer; but finding this employment little likely to improve his fortune, he went to Ireland. He was then about twenty-two years of age, graceful in person, and possessing many accomplishments, which enabled him to render himself useful to some of the principal persons employed in the government. In 1595 he married one of the daughters and coheiresses of William Aspley. This lady died four years afterwards, leaving him a landed estate of £500 a-year. In consequence of various services, and the great ability he displayed, he gradually rose to the highest offices; and in 1616 he was created by King James I. Lord Boyle, Baron of Youghall in the county of Cork. Four years later he was created Viscount Dungarvan and Earl of Cork; and in 1631 he was appointed lord-treasurer of Ireland, an honour that was made hereditary in his family. He particularly distinguished himself by the noble stand he made when the great rebellion broke out in Ireland in the reign of Charles I., acting with as much bravery and military skill as if he had been trained from his infancy to the profession of arms. Having turned the castle of Lismore, his principal seat, into a fortress, he immediately armed and disciplined his servants and Protestant tenants; and, with their assistance, and a small army, raised and maintained at his own expense, which he put under the command of his four sons, he defended the province of Munster, and took several strong castles. During this time he paid his forces regularly; and when all his money was exhausted, he converted his plate into coin. He died on the 16th of September 1644.

Boyle, Robert, one of the greatest and best of modern philosophers, was the seventh son and fourteenth child of Richard Earl of Cork, and was born at Lismore castle in the province of Munster, Ireland, January 25, 1626-7. He acquired the first rudiments of learning in his father's house, being taught to speak Latin by one of the earl's chaplains, and French by a native of the country residing in the house. In 1635 his father sent him to be educated at Eton school, where Sir Henry Wotton, the earl's friend, was then provost. Whilst at Eton several extraordinary accidents befell him, of which he has given us an account. One was the fall of his chamber while he was in bed; when he must infallibly have been suffocated by the dust as he lay beneath the rubbish, but for his presence of mind in covering his head with the sheet, which enabled him to breathe without difficulty. Soon afterwards, when he was riding, his horse suddenly reared and fell backwards, when he would certainly have been crushed but for his timely dexterity in disengaging himself from the animal.

He remained at Eton between three and four years; and then was placed as a private pupil with Mr Douch, rector of Stalbridge in Dorsetshire, a property recently purchased by the earl. In 1638 he attended his father to London, and remained with him at the Savoy, till the marriage of his brother Francis with Mrs Elizabeth Killigrew; and immediately afterwards, the two brothers proceeded to the Continent, accompanied by M. Marcomb, a Frenchman, who was tutor to Mr Boyle. Landing at Dieppe, they passed by Rouen to Paris, and thence to Lyons; and then continued their journey to Geneva, where the family of their travelling companion resided. Here young Boyle resumed his studies in the mathematics, of which he had previously acquired some knowledge.

After residing a year at Geneva, in September 1641 he travelled through Switzerland and the country of the Grisons; then passing by Bergamo, Brescia, and Verona, he arrived at Venice, where he made a short stay. He spent the winter at Florence, employing his spare hours in reading the modern history of Italy, and in studying the works of Galileo, who died near Florence during Mr Boyle's residence there. He also acquired the Italian language, though he never spoke it so fluently as French, of which he was a perfect master.

About the end of March 1642 he went to Rome; and after visiting several of the principal cities of Italy, he arrived at Marseilles. Here he received intelligence of the Irish rebellion; and after experiencing considerable pecuniary difficulties through the loss of a remittance, in consequence of which the party were obliged to retrace their way to Geneva, he at length reached England in 1644. His father was then dead, but he had left him the manor of Stalbridge, as well as considerable property in Ireland; though during that period of public agitation he derived little benefit from them. He procured, however, from the powers in being, protection for his estates in the two kingdoms.

In March 1646 he retired to his manor at Stalbridge, where he chiefly resided till May 1650. He made occasional excursions to London and to Oxford; and in February 1647 he paid a short visit to Holland. During his retirement at Stalbridge he engaged diligently in study, devoting his attention more particularly to natural philosophy and chemistry. He omitted no opportunity of making the acquaintance of persons distinguished by their talents and learning, and to such he was always a ready and generous assistant, and maintained with them a constant correspondence. Boyle was also one of the first members of that small society of learned men, who, in consequence of the unsettled state of the times, held their meetings with great privacy, first at London, and afterwards at Oxford, for the purpose of discussing and investigating experimental philosophy, and other subjects of liberal inquiry, exclusive of religion and politics. They styled themselves the Philosophic College; and after the Restoration, they were incorporated under the name of the Royal Society.

In the summer of 1654 Boyle took up his residence at Oxford, in order that he might pursue his studies to greater advantage; and here he found himself surrounded by many learned friends, such as Wilkins, Wallis, Ward, Willis, Wren, and others, who had resorted thither for the same reasons as himself. It was here that he made his improvements on the air-pump, and by numerous experiments with this instrument he was enabled to discover several qualities of air, and to lay the foundation of a satisfactory theory of its nature. He declared against the philosophy of Aristotle, as being conversant more with words than with things, and as giving the inventions of men for indubitable proofs, instead of building upon observation and experiment. He was so zealous for the experimental method of investigation, that although the Cartesian philosophy was become the subject of general attention, he could not for many years be persuaded to read the works of Descartes, lest he should be diverted by ingenious theories from carrying out the Baconian system of experimental inquiries to which he had devoted himself. But philosophy, and inquiries into nature, though they engaged his attention deeply, did not occupy it entirely. He still continued his critical and theological studies; and in these he had the assistance of several eminent scholars, such as Pococke, Hylde, and Clarke, all distinguished orientalists. He was also intimate with Dr Thomas Barlow, the Bodleian librarian and subsequently Bishop of Lincoln, a man of various and extensive learning. In 1659 Boyle came to know the distressed circumstances of Sanderson, afterwards bishop of Lincoln, who lost all his preferments on account of his attachment to the royal party, and he conferred upon him a pension of L50 a-year, to encourage him in writing his "Cases of Conscience."

On the Restoration, Boyle was very favourably received at court. He was solicited by the Lord Chancellor Clarendon to enter into holy orders, but shrank from the responsibility; believing, moreover, that whatever he wrote in the service of religion would have greater weight as coming from a layman. He chose, therefore, to pursue his philosophical studies in such a manner as might conduce to the support of religion, and began to communicate to the world the fruits of these studies. The first of these were printed at Oxford in 1650, in 8vo, under the title of New Experiments, Physico-mechanical, touching the Spring of Air and its Effects; and Seraphic Love, or some Motives and Incentives to the Love of God. Certain physiological essays and other tracts, in 4to, appeared in 1661; and in 1662, the Sceptical Chemist, which was reprinted about 1679, in 8vo, with additional experiments and notes.

In 1663 the Royal Society was incorporated by letters patent, and Boyle was appointed one of the council. He had been principally concerned in the foundation of that learned society, and through life he continued one of the most useful and industrious of its members. In 1663 he published Considerations touching the usefulness of Experimental Natural Philosophy, 4to, and Experiments and Considerations upon Colours; with Observations on a Diamond that shines in the Dark, 8vo. This treatise, which is full of curious and useful remarks on the hitherto unexplained doctrine of light and colours, may be said to have led the way to that more full and ample development of the subject which was reserved for the genius of Newton.

In the same year appeared his Considerations on the Style of the Holy Scriptures, 8vo, being an extract from a larger work, entitled An Essay on Scripture, afterwards published by his friend Sir Peter Pett. In 1664 he was elected into the company of the royal mines, and all this year he was engaged in the prosecution of various good designs, which prevented his publishing anything. The year following appeared Occasional Reflections upon several Subjects, 8vo, addressed to Sophronia (his sister the Viscountess Ranelagh). In ridicule of these discourses, Dean Swift wrote A Pious Meditation upon a Broomstick, in the style of the Honourable Mr Boyle. "To what a height," said Lord Orrery, "must the spirit of sarcasm arise in an author, who could prevail on himself to ridicule so good a man as Mr Boyle?" The same year he published an important work, entitled New Experiments and Observations upon Cold, 1665, 8vo; and in 1666, Hydrostactical Paradoxes made out by new Experiments, 8vo; and also the Origin of Forms and Qualities, according to the Corpuscular Philosophy. Besides these, both in this and the former year, he communicated to the Royal Society several curious and excellent short treatises, which are preserved in the Philosophical Transactions.

In 1668 Boyle settled in London, in the house of his sister, Lady Ranelagh, in Pall-Mall. In the following year he published A Continuation of New Experiments, touching the Weight and Spring of the Air; to which is added, A Discourse of the Atmospheres of Consistent Bodies. He also revised and made additions to several of his former works, some of which were now translated into Latin. About the same time he published his Tracts about the Cosmical Qualities of Things, the Temperature of the Subterraneous Regions, and the Bottom of the Sea; to which is prefixed, an Introduction to the History of Particular Qualities. This book occasioned much speculation, as it contained a vast treasure of knowledge, founded upon actual experiments, or arguments justly drawn from them, instead of that conjectural philosophy which in the beginning of the seventeenth century had been so much in fashion. In 1671 he published Considerations on the Usefulness of Experimental and Natural Philosophy, (part second), 4to; and, A Collection of Tracts upon several useful and important points of Practical Philosophy, 4to; which were received as new and valuable gifts to the learned world. An essay concerning the Origin and Virtues of Gems, 8vo, appeared in 1672; also, A collection of tracts upon the relation between flame and air, and several other useful and curious subjects; besides which he furnished, in this and the former year, a great number of short dissertations upon a variety of topics, addressed to the Royal Society, and inserted in their Transactions. Essays on the Subtlety and determinate Nature of Effluvia, to which were added a variety of Experiments on other Subjects, came out in 1673, 8vo. A collection of tracts upon the Saltiness of the Sea, the Moisture of the Air, the Natural and Preternatural State of Bodies, to which is prefixed a dialogue concerning Cold, was published in 1674, 8vo. The Excellency of Theology, compared with Philosophy, appeared in 1673. This discourse was written in 1665, when the Great Plague which then raged in London obliged the author to wander from place to place in the country, where he had little opportunity of consulting books. A Collection of Tracts, containing Suspicions respecting Hidden Qualities of the Air, with an appendix, touching Celestial Magnets, Animadversions upon Hobbes's Problem about a Vacuum, and a Discourse of the Cause of Attraction and Suction, was published in 1674. Some Considerations about the Reconcilableness of Reason and Religion, by a Layman, to which is annexed a discourse about the Possibility of the Resurrection, appeared in 1655. Amongst the papers which he communicated to the Royal Society this year, one was entitled An Experimental Discourse of Quicksilver growing hot with Gold; and another relating to the same subject; each of which contained important discoveries.

In 1676 he published Experiments and Notes about the mechanical origin or production of Particular Qualities, in several discourses on a great variety of subjects, and among the rest on electricity. In 1678 he communicated to Dr Hooke a short memorial of some observations made upon an artificial substance that shines without any preceding illustration; which that philosopher published in his Lectiones Cutlerianae. His historical account of a degradation of gold produced by an anti-elixir, is looked upon as one of the most remarkable pieces that ever fell from his pen. The regard which Sir Isaac Newton entertained for Boyle may be seen in a letter which he wrote to him, towards the close of this year, stating his sentiments of that ethereal medium which he afterwards considered in his Optics as the cause of gravitation. This letter is given in the Life of Boyle by Dr Birch.

In 1680 he published the Aerial Noctiluca, or some new phenomena, and a process of a factitious self-shining substance, 8vo. This year the Royal Society, as a proof of their sense of his great worth, and of the services which he had rendered the society, elected him their president; but being extremely sensitive in regard to oaths, he declined the honour. He published a discourse of Things above Reason, inquiring, whether a philosopher should admit any such, 1684, 8vo; New Experiments and Observations upon the icy Noctiluca, to which is added a chemical paradox, grounded upon new Experiments, 1682, 8vo; and a continuation of New Experiments, Physico-mechanical, touching the Spring and Weight of the Air, 1682, 8vo. In 1683 he published nothing except a short letter to Dr Beale, in rela- he published Memoirs for the natural history of Human Blood, especially the spirit of that liquor, 8vo; and Experiments and Considerations about the Porosity of Bodies. In 1685 he published Short Memoirs for the natural experimental history of Mineral Waters, with directions as to the several methods of trying them; an Essay on the great Effects of even languid and unhedged motion, which was received with great and general applause; a Treatise of the Reconcilableness of specific Medicines to the Corpuscular Philosophy, to which is annexed a Discourse about the Advantages of the use of Simple Medicines, 8vo; and a theological tract of the high veneration Man's intellect owes to God, peculiarly for his wisdom and power, 8vo. In the beginning of the succeeding year came out his Free Inquiry into the vulgarly received notion of Nature; and in 1687 he published the martyrdom of Theodora and Didymia, a juvenile performance. His Disquisition about the final causes of natural things, in 8vo, appeared in 1688.

He now began to find that his health and strength, notwithstanding every care, gradually declined. He no longer communicated particular discourses or new discoveries to the Royal Society, because it could not be done without withdrawing his thoughts from occupations which he thought of still greater importance. In order the more steadily to attend to these, he resigned his post of governor of the corporation for propagating the gospel in New England; and even went so far as to signify to the world, by public advertisement, that he could no longer receive visits as usual. Among the other works which by this means he gained time to finish, was a collection of elaborate processes in chemistry, which, as he stated in a letter to a friend, he left "as a kind of hermetic legacy to the studious disciples of that art." Besides these papers, he left behind him many relating to chemistry.

He published some other works, as Medicina Hydrostactica, or Hydrostatics applied to the Materia Medica, 1690, 8vo; The Christian Virtuoso, to which is subjoined, A Discourse about the Distinction that represents some Things as above Reason, but not contrary to Reason; and the first chapters of a discourse entitled Greatness of mind promoted by Christianity. Lastly, he published in the spring of 1691, Experimenta et Observationes Physicae, treating of several subjects relating to natural philosophy, in an experimental way, 8vo.

About the beginning of summer he began to feel such an alteration in his health as induced him to think of settling his affairs; and on the 30th December 1691 he departed this life, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He was buried in St Martin's in the Fields, Westminster; and his funeral sermon was preached by Dr Gilbert Burnet, bishop of Salisbury.

The edition of the New Testament in the Malay tongue was undertaken at Boyle's expense, and sent over all the East. He munificently rewarded the person who translated Grotius's book De Veritate into Arabic; and he was at the charge of a whole impression, which he took care to have distributed in all the countries where that language was understood. It was his intention to have printed an impression of the New Testament in Turkish; but the design was carried out by the Levant Company. Boyle, however, contributed largely towards it. He expended L700 on an edition of the Scriptures in Irish, and contributed liberally to the impression of the Welsh Bible. He gave, during his life, L300 to advance the design of propagating the Christian religion in America; and as soon as he heard that the East India Company were entertaining propositions for a similar design in the East, he sent a donation of L100. His various charities amounted altogether to upwards of L1000 a-year.

Of his merits as an inquirer into nature, Boerhaave remarks, that "Boyle, the ornament of his age and country, succeeded to the genius and inquiries of the great Chancellor Verulam;" to which he adds—"To him we owe the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, vegetables, fossils; so that from his works may be deduced the whole system of natural knowledge." This may now appear extravagant; but at the time it was considered a just tribute to his extraordinary merit and indefatigable perseverance.

In his person Robert Boyle was tall, slender, and of a pale countenance. His constitution was extremely delicate; and he was so apprehensive of the effects of cold, that he was guided by the thermometer in fixing upon one of his numerous cloaks to wear abroad. Though labouring for nearly forty years of his life under every disadvantage of bodily weakness and depression of spirits, his ardour in the cause of science suffered no abatement, as amply testified by the extent and importance of his various productions. He had likewise a weakness in his eyes, which rendered him extremely apprehensive of such distempers as might affect them. As to life itself, he set that just value on it which became a philosopher and a Christian. He was never married, although he had at least one opportunity of making an advantageous connection, since we find from a letter of Dr John Wallis to him, dated Oxford, 17th July 1669, that an overture had been made to him in regard to the Lady Mary Hastings, sister to the Earl of Huntingdon.

The following is a list of his posthumous works—1. The General History of the Air designed and begun; 2. General Heads for the Natural History of a Country, for the use of Travellers and Navigators; 3. A paper of the Hon. Robert Boyle's, deposited with the secretaries of the Royal Society, being an account of his making the Phlogiston, September 30, 1680; 4. An account of a way of examining Waters as to Freshness or Saltiness; 5. A free Discourse against the late Sweating, and a Dissuasive from Cursing, 1695, 8vo; and 6. Medicinal Experiments, or a Collection of choice Remedies, &c., 1698, 12mo. Editions of all his works have been printed at London, in five volumes folio, and six volumes 4to.

Boyle, Roger, Earl of Orrery, fifth son of the great Earl of Cork, was born in April 1621. He distinguished himself while a student at Dublin College, and afterwards made the tour of France and Italy. On his return he was created Lord Broghill, through the interest of the Earl of Strafford. Shortly afterwards he married Margaret Howard, sister to the Earl of Suffolk; and passing over to Ireland with his bride, he found the country in a state of rebellion, and assisted his father in opposing the insurgents. Upon the execution of the king, he retired to his seat at Marston in Somersetshire; but his spirit could ill brook this state of inactivity, and he therefore resolved to cross the seas, and apply to Charles II. for a commission to raise forces to restore the monarchy and recover his own estate. Under the pretence of visiting Spa for his health, he proceeded as far as London, when he received a message from Cromwell, then general of the parliamentary forces and a member of the committee of state, intimating his intention to wait upon him. Presently Cromwell himself entered the room, and after the exchange of a few civilities, told Lord Broghill that the committee were apprised of his design; and when his lordship assured him that the intelligence was false, Cromwell produced copies of several of his confidential letters, which reduced him to the necessity of asking Cromwell's pardon, and requesting his advice in such a conjuncture. Cromwell told him, that though he had hitherto been a stranger to his person, he was not so to his merit and character; that he had heard how gallantly his lordship had behaved in the Irish wars; and he concluded by offering him the command of a general officer, exempt from all oaths and engagements; adding that he should not be obliged to draw his sword against any but the Irish rebels. Lord Broghill, greatly surprised at so unexpected an offer, requested some time for deliberation. But Cromwell briskly told him that he must determine instantly; that he himself was about to return to the committee, who were still sitting; and that if his lordship rejected their offer, they had determined to send him to the Tower. Broghill, finding that his liberty and life were in the utmost danger, pledged his honour that he would faithfully serve against the Irish rebels; and accordingly, by Cromwell's instructions, he passed over into Ireland, where by many important services he fully justified the opinion which Cromwell had conceived of him. Having raised a troop of horse, it was soon increased to a regiment of 1500 men, and these he led into the field against the rebels. He was speedily joined by Cromwell, who placed the highest confidence in his new ally, and found him of the greatest value to the interest of the commonwealth.

When Cromwell became Protector, Lord Broghill was made one of his privy council, and admitted to great intimacy and confidence. It is said that the latter formed a project for engaging Cromwell to restore the old constitution, by a match between Charles II. and the Protector's daughter. Cromwell, who at first seemed to think it not unfeasible, soon perceived the difficulties which it involved, and told Broghill that he thought his project impracticable: "For," said he, "Charles can never forgive me the death of his father."

On the death of Cromwell, Lord Broghill continued attached to his son Richard, till seeing that the weak nature of that amiable man would infallibly bring on his fall, he deemed it imprudent still to cling to one whom he could not save, and accordingly retired to his command in Ireland, where affairs shortly after took a turn extremely favourable to the design of the king's restoration. Lord Broghill was not a little instrumental in bringing about that event; and, in consideration of his eminent services, Charles created him Earl of Orrery, September 5, 1660. He was soon after made one of the lords justices of Ireland; and his conduct, whilst at the head of affairs in that kingdom, was such as to add greatly to the general esteem in which his character was previously held.

His active and toilsome course of life at length brought on disease and infirmity; but, notwithstanding, he went over to England in 1665, at the king's desire, and mediated with success in a serious misunderstanding which existed between the king and the Duke of York.

On his return to Ireland, Lord Orrery, by his prudent and skilful measures, rendered abortive the scheme of a descent upon Ireland by the Dutch and French, planned by the Duke de Beaufort, admiral of France.

About this time a quarrel with his old friend the Duke of Ormond, arising from mutual jealousies, became so serious that the disputants resorted to England to defend their respective interests. This quarrel, though of a private beginning, became at last of a public nature. Lord Orrery was impeached, but defended himself so well that the prosecution failed. He lost, however, his public employments; but, retaining the king's favour, still came frequently to court, and was often consulted on affairs of importance. His last voyage to England was for the purpose of obtaining medical advice; but his disease, which was gout, proved mortal, and he expired on the 16th of October 1679, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. Lord Orrery was the author of several works, chiefly dramas and poems, now forgotten. Walpole remarks "that he never made a bad figure but as a poet." As a soldier, his valour was distinguished, his stratagems and tact were remarkable; as a statesman, it is sufficient to say that he possessed the confidence of Cromwell; and his credit ever stood high for integrity, and for generous fidelity as a friend.

Boyle's Lectures, a course of eight sermons or lectures preached annually, and founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, whose design, as expressed in a codicil annexed to his will in 1691, was to prove the truth of the Christian religion against infidels, without descending to any controversies among Christians, and to answer new difficulties or scruples that might from time to time arise. For the support of this lecture, he assigned the rent of his house in Crooked Lane to some learned divine within the bills of mortality, to be elected for a time not exceeding three years, by Archbishop Tennison and others. But the fund proving precarious, the salary was ill paid; and to remedy this inconvenience, the archbishop procured a yearly stipend of £30 for ever, to be paid quarterly, charged on a farm in the parish of Brill in the county of Bucks. To this appointment we are indebted for many elaborate defences both of natural and revealed religion.