BROOM E. 1689?-1745. Born at Haslington, in Cheshire-Educated at Eton and Cambridge-Enters into Holy Orders -Introduced to Pope-Assists Pope in the Notes to the Iliad-Assists him in translating the Odyssey-His Quarrel with Pope-His Miscellany Poems-Marries-Death and Burial in Bath Abbey Church-Works and Character. WILLIAM BROOME was born in Cheshire, as is said, 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 scholarship at King's College. Being by this delay, such as is said to have happened very rarely, superannuated, he was sent to St. John's College [Cambridge] by the contributions of his friends, where he obtained a small exhibition." At his College he lived for some time in the same chamber with the well-known Ford, by whom I have formerly heard him described as a contracted scholar and a mere versifier, unacquainted with life, and unskilful in conversation. His addiction to metre was then such, that his companions familiarly called him Poet. When he had opportunities of mingling with mankind, he cleared himself, as Ford likewise owned, from great part of his scholastic rust. He appeared early in the world as a translator of the 'Iliads' 1 He was born at Haslington, in the parish of Barthomley and county of Chester, about the year 1689. His father (Randle Broome) was a farmer. See Barlow's 'Memoir of Broome,' 12mo, 1854, p. 7. On his portrait before his 'Poems '-D. Heins, p. 1725, G. Vertue, sculp.-is this inscription: "William Broome, ætat. xxxvii. 1726." He was therefore born in 1688 or 1689, and consequently of the same age as Pope. 2 It happened but four times in 160 years, viz., in 1619, 1653, 1707, 1756.-Gent.'s Mag. for 1780, p. 269. 3 He was matriculated a sizar the 10th of July, 1708, took his B.A. degree in January, 1711 -12, and his A. M. degree in 1716.- BARLOw's Broome, p. 7. + See Johnson's Life of Fenton, p. 56, and Mr. Croker's note in Boswell, ed. 1847, p. 9. 5 into prose, in conjunction with Ozell and Oldisworth. How their several parts were distributed is not known. This is the translation of which Ozell boasted as superior, in Toland's opinion, to that of Pope it has long since vanished, and is now in no danger from the critics. : He was introduced to Mr. Pope, who was then visiting Sir John Cotton at Madingley near Cambridge, and gained so much of his esteem, that he was employed, I believe, to make extracts from Eustathius for the notes to the translation of the 'Iliad ;' and in the volumes of poetry published by Lintot, commonly called 'Pope's Miscellanies,' many of his early pieces were inserted." Pope and Broome were to be yet more closely connected. When the success of the 'Iliad' gave encouragement to a version of the Odyssey,' Pope, weary of the toil, called Fenton and Broome to his assistance; and taking only half the work upon himself, 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 second, sixth, eighth, eleventh, twelfth, sixteenth, eighteenth, and twenty-third, together with the burthen of writing all the notes.' As this translation is a very important event in poetical history, the reader has a right to know upon what grounds I establish my narration. That the version was not wholly Pope's, was always known; he had mentioned the assistance of two friends in his Proposals, and at the end of the work some account is given by Broome • In an advertisement of 20th September, 1729, in a paper called 'The Weekly Medley.' Pope transferred the advertisement to his edition of 'The Dunciad,' 1786, 12mo. p. 111. • In the first ed., 1 vol. 8vo., 1712, he has five poems. In the fourth ed., 2 vols. 12mo. 1722, he has twelve poems. In the sixth ed., 2 vols. 12mo., 1782, his former poems are omitted, and two new ones (those to Pope) inserted instead. 7 Before Broome's 'Poems,' 8vo., 1789, is the following 'Advertisement :'-"The author has not inserted into this collection any part of his Translation of the eight books of the Odyssey published by Mr. Pope: he thought it an imposition on the public to swell this volume with verses taken from a work that is in the hands of almost every reader." And in the Preface to the same volume he describes himself, p. xii., as "The Annotator in part upon the Iliad, and entirely upon the Odyssey.' 8 Dated 10th January, 1724-5. "The benefit of this proposal is not solely for my own use, but for that of two of my friends, who have assisted me in this work. One of them enjoins me to conceal his name; the other is the Reverend Mr. Broome, whose assistance I have formerly acknowledged in many of the notes and extracts annexed to my translation of the Iliad." of their different parts, which, however, mentions only five books as written by the coadjutors; the fourth and twentieth by Fenton; the sixth, 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 curiosity, after the real conduct of so great an undertaking, incited me once to inquire 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 several shares. The intelligence which Dr. Warburton could not afford me, I obtained from Mr. Langton, to whom Mr. Spence had imparted it." 10 The price at which Pope purchased this assistance 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 hearsay; Broome's is very distinctly told by Pope in the notes to 'The Dunciad.' 913 It is evident that, according to Pope's own estimate, Broome was unkindly treated. If four books could merit three hundred pounds, eight and all the notes, equivalent at least to four, had certainly a right to more than six. Broome probably considered himself as injured, and there was for some time more than coldness between him and his employer. He always spoke of Pope as. too much a lover of money, and Pope • Advertisement to the second volume of his Works in folio, quarto, and duodecimo, 1785. 10 By the note Johnson means the Postscript to 'The Odyssey,' in which the statement there made by Pope is certainly a lie. 11 See Johnson's Letter to Joseph Warton on this subject in Boswell by Croker, p. 647, ed. 1848. 12 The only statement on this subject in Spence is, that Fenton had 2407., and Broome 6002. ('Spence by Singer,' p. 326.) Broome, in a letter to Pope, of 29th October, 1785, says, "You paid me 500.; that is, 100%. for the notes, and 4007. for eight books of the verse translation, and Mr. Fenton in proportion for his four books."-(Unpublished Letter in Mr. Croker's possession.) From this it would appear that Broome believed that Fenton's remuneration was the same as his own, which it appears now was not the case. 13 And also in his famous letter to Lord Hervey. "What he gave him was five hundred pounds: his receipt can be produced to your Lordship." Sir Henry Bunbury has large extracts in Broome's handwriting, from his portion of the 'Odyssey,' and from his poem on the 'War in Flanders,' which he had probably sent to Sir Thomas [Hanmer] for approbation and patronage. Sir Henry also possesses "a memorandum of the respective shares borne by Pope, Fenton, and Broome in the translation of the 'Odyssey,' which corresponds with the statements already published."-Hanmer Correspondence, 8vo., 1888, p. 213. |