BRO O ME. WILLIAM BROOME was born in Cheshire, as is faid, of very mean parents. Of the place of his birth, or the firft 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, 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, Gg 4 by by whom I have formerly heard him described as a contracted scholar and a mere verfifyer, unacquainted with life, and unskilful 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 likewise owned, from great part of his fcholaftick ruft. He appeared early in the world as a tranflator of the Iliads into profe, in conjunction with Ozell and Oldifworth. How their several parts were diftributed is not known. This is the tranflation of which Ozell boasted as fuperior, in Toland'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 so much of his esteem that he was employed, I believe, to make extracts from Euftathius for the notes to the translation of the Iliad; and in the volumes of poetry published by Lintot, commonly |