Mr. Hanway wrote an angry answer to Johnson's review of his
_Essay on Tea_, and Johnson, after a full and deliberate pause, made a
reply to it; the only instance, I believe, in the whole course of his
life, when he condescended to oppose any thing that was written against
him[923]. I suppose when he thought of any of his little antagonists, he
was ever justly aware of the high sentiment of Ajax in _Ovid_:
'Iste tulit pretium jam nunc certaminis hujus,
Qui, cum victus erit, mecum certasse feretur[924].'
But, indeed, the good Mr. Hanway laid himself so open to ridicule, that
Johnson's animadversions upon his attack were chiefly to make sport[925].
[Page 315: Admiral Byng. AEtat 47.]
The generosity with which he pleads the cause of Admiral Byng is highly
to the honour of his heart and spirit. Though _Voltaire_ affects to be
witty upon the fate of that unfortunate officer, observing that he was
shot '_pour encourager les autres_[926],' the nation has long been
satisfied that his life was sacrificed to the political fervour of the
times. In the vault belonging to the Torrington family, in the church of
Southill[927], in Bedfordshire, there is the following Epitaph upon his
monument, which I have transcribed:
'TO THE PERPETUAL DISGRACE
OF PUBLIC JUSTICE,
THE HONOURABLE JOHN BYNG, ESQ.
ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE,
FELL A MARTYR TO POLITICAL
PERSECUTION,
MARCH 14, IN THE YEAR, 1757;
WHEN BRAVERY AND LOYALTY
WERE INSUFFICIENT SECURITIES
FOR THE LIFE AND HONOUR OF
A NAVAL OFFICER.
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