that through the greater part of their lives, they were cordial friends. If any temporary estrangement had ever taken place, it sunk before the tomb of Shakspeare. "Tune etiam moreris? ah! quid me linquis, Erasme, "Art thou too fallen? ere anger could subside, His affectionate tribute to Shakspeare's memory, which proves itself to be sincere, by being exactly appropriate, does equal honour to the object of his praise, and his own good heart. I now take leave of this part of my task, which I have undertaken with reluctance, and have executed with pain. If in any part of it I have been betrayed into undue warmth (of which I am unconscious), my subject, at least with Mr. Gifford, will plead my excuse. If there be any one passage in his own writings to which, more than any other, he can look back with unmingled delight, I will venture to point out his high, but not more high than merited, eulogium upon the present very excellent Dean of Westminster. Let him recall to his recollection the feelings with which that tribute was penned, and he will know what I also must feel in defending the character of one, whom I loved and honoured from my infancyMINE OWN AND MY FATHER'S FRIEND. JAMES BOSWELL. Temple, May, 1821. Ir was not my intention to have given, on the present occasion, any sketch of Mr. Malone's life; but to have reserved myself for a future opportunity, when I could have done more justice to the subject. In compliance, however, with the recommendation of several of my friends, who were of opinion that something of that nature would be expected, I have ventured to reprint a slight tribute to his memory, which I drew up in the year 1814. A BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR, &c. EDMOND MALONE was descended from an Irish family of the highest antiquity*: and all his immediate predecessors were distinguished men. His grandfather, Richard Malone, while he was yet only a student at the Temple, was entrusted with a negotiation in Holland; and so successfully acquitted himself, that he was honoured and rewarded by King William for his services. Having been called to the Irish bar about 1700, he became one of the most eminent barristers that have ever appeared in that country. His professional fame has only been eclipsed by that of his eldest son, the still more celebrated Anthony Malone, whose superiority to him has not, however, been universally acknowledged. To any one, who is even slightly acquainted with the history of Ireland, it would be superfluous to point out the extraordinary qualities which adorned the character of Anthony Malone. As a lawyer, an orator, and an able and upright statesman, he was confessedly one of the most illustrious men of which his country can boast. If any testimony to his merits were required, it will be found in the following passage from the pen of Mr. Grattan: "Mr. Malone was a *This is not the place to enlarge upon Mr. Malone's family; but a detailed account of it is to be found in the 7th volume of Archdall's Peerage of Ireland, which, it is believed, was drawn up by Mr. Malone himself, and which contains a full and interesting delineation of his grandfather and uncle. man of the finest intellect that any country ever produced. The three ablest men I have ever heard, were Mr. Pitt (the father), Mr. Murray, and Mr. Malone. For a popular assembly I would chuse Mr. Pitt; for a privy council, Murray; for twelve wise men, Malone. This was the opinion which Lord Sackville, the Secretary of [17]53, gave of Mr. Malone to a gentleman from whom I heard it."-" He is a great sea in a calm," said Mr. Gerard Hamilton, another great judge of men and talents. "Aye," it was replied, "but had you seen him when he was young, you would have said he was a great sea in a storm! and, like the sea, whether in calm or storm, he was a great production of nature." Edmond, the second son of Richard, and the father of the late Mr. Malone, was born on the 16th of April, 1704. He was called to the English bar in 1730, where he continued for ten years to practise; and, in 1740, removed to the Irish bar. After having sat in several parliaments, and gone through the usual gradations of professional rank, he was raised, in 1766, to the dignity of one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, an office which he filled till his death in 1774. He married, in 1736, Catherine, only daughter and heir of Benjamin Collier, Esq. of Ruckholts, in the county of Essex, by whom he had four sons, Richard, created Lord Sunderlin; Edmond, the subject of our present Memoir; Anthony, and Benjamin, who died in their infancy; and two daughters, Henrietta and Catherine. Edmond Malone was born at his father's house in Dublin, on the 4th of October, 1741. He was educated at the school of Dr. Ford, in Molesworth-street; and went from thence, in the year 1756, to the University of Dublin; where he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Here his talents very early displayed themselves; and, to use the words of a most respectable gentleman, his contemporary, "He was distinguished by a successful competition for academical honours with several young men, who after |