Dr. Johnson, in a letter to Dr. Vyse,
"requests him to recommend, an old friend, to his grace the
Archbishop of Canterbury. His name," says the Doctor, "is De Groot.
He has all the common claims to charity; he is poor and infirm in a
great degree. He has likewise another claim, to which no scholar
can refuse attention: he is, by several descents, the nephew of
Hugo Grotius; of him, of whom every man of learning has perhaps
learned something. Let it not be said, that, in any lettered
country, the nephew of Grotius, ever asked a charity, and was
refused."
The reader must be pleased, to be informed, that the application,--it
was for some situation, in the charter-house,--was successful. Dr. Vyse
informed Dr. Johnson of it, by letter. In his answer,
"Dr. Johnson," by Dr. Vyse's account, "rejoiced much, and was
lavish of the praise he bestowed upon his favourite Hugo
Grotius."[079]
[Sidenote: The Death of Grotius.]
Three points were united in Grotius, each of which would strongly
recommend him to Dr.
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