Amory, THOMAS

Amory, THOMAS, an eccentric author of Irish descent, who was born about 1691 and died in 1788. His father was Councillor Amory, who went with William III. to Ireland, and was made secretary of the forfeited estates. Amory speaks of having lived in Dublin, where he knew Swift, whose sermon on the Trinity he calls in a public letter to Lord Orrery a 'senseless and despicable performance.' He was living in Westminster about 1757, with a country retreat at Hounslow. Amory lived a retired and meditative life, seldom going abroad save after dark. His John Bunce is a curious medley of religious and sentimental rhapsodies, descriptions of scenery, and fragments of autobiography. Latterly, his intellect is believed to have been disordered. Amory's chief works are: Lives of Several Ladies of Great Britain: A History of Antiquities, Productions of Nature, &c. (1755); and the Life of John Bunce (1756-66).