his youth did not entitle him to this advancement; and it is not at all unlikely that his intereft in Scotland, and the obfcunt, of his name and attainments, were fuch as to afford him no Lattoval profpect of fuccefs. On this he repaired to the metropolis, and enrolled his name as a student of the Inner Temple. It appears from his fpeeches, his writings, and his converfation, that he studied the grand outline of our municipa! jurif prudence with particular attention; but it may be doubted whether he ever entered into the minutia. Indeed the verarility of his talents, and his avocations, was but little calculated for that dull and plodding circuit which can alone lead to an intimate knowledge of our laws. Befides, if he had been gutted with the neceffary application, both time and opportunity were wanting for it is well known that at this period of his life the res angufta domus" did not permit the ftudent to dedicate his attention folely to this, or indeed to any other fingle obje&. The exhaufted ftate of his finances called frequently for a Speedy fupply, and inftead of perufing the pages of Bracton, : Fleta, Littleton, and Coke, he was obliged to write effays, letters, and paragraphs, for the periodical publications of the day. But if thefe pursuits diverted his attention from graver ftudies, they acquired him a facility of compofition, and a command of ftyle and of language, which proved eminently ferviceable in the courfe of his future life. His health, however, became at length impaired, and a nervous fever enfued. This circumftance induced him to call in the aid of Dr. Nugent, one of his own countrymen, a medical man whose manners were more amiable than his practice was extenfive. This gentleman, who had travelled on the continent, and was an author himself, readily difcovered the fource of his malady, and, by removing him from books and business to his own houfe, foon effected a cure. That event is faid to have been haftened, if not entirely completed, by a physician of an * Dr. N. published "The Grand Tour," &c. and occafionally acted as travelling Eutor to feveral young men of rank. other kind; the accomplished daughter of his hoft. This lady was destined to become his wife; a circumftance particularly fortunate for him, as her difpofition was mild and gentle, and she continued, through a long feries of years, and any viciffitudes of fortune, to foothe and tranquillize paffions always violent, and often tumultuous. Our student seems at length to have determined once more to endeavour to distinguish himself as an author, and he accordingly took advantage of the death of a celebrated peer to write a work * after the manner of that nobleman; in which, by exaggerating his principles, he should be enabled to bring them into contempt. What he had before attempted against the patriotifin of Dr. Lucas, was now again tried in respect to the philosophy of lord Bolingbroke: but it is allowed on all hands that this effort alfo proved unfuccefsful, for the treatife in question was for a long time configned to oblivion, and would never have been heard of, had it not been refufcitated by his future fame. Another performance inade ample amends: his " Effay on the Sublime and Beautiful" attracted a high degree of reputation, and acquired him confiderable celebrity as a man of letters. addition to the profits of the publication, he is faid on this occation to have received a prefent from his father of one hundred poun 'st. But his circumstances must have been greatly embarraffed about this time, as he was obliged to fell his books; and furely nothing but the extremity of diftrefs could have forced a man of letters to fuch a measure. The work we have juft mentioned, having an immediate relation to tafte, excited a defire in fir Joshua Reynolds, even then at the head of his profeffion, to become acquainted with Mr. B. and a friendship enfued which continued uninterrupted during the life of the painter, and was unequivocally teftified by a handfome bequest in his will. Dr. Johnson alfo fought and obtained an intimacy with him, and he now became the conftant frequenter of two clubs, compofed of fome of the molt celebrated men of that day ‡. A Vindication of Natural Society. A literary +Biffet's Life of Ed. Burke, p. 36. One of thefe met at the Turk's Head tavern in Gerrard-street, and confifted of the following A literary work on a new plan, firft fuggefted in 1750, and by fome attributed to the Dodsleys, and by others to Mr. Burke, became, for fome time, a confiderable fource of emolument to him. This was called the "Annual Register;" a publication that foon obtained confiderable celebrity, and of which he had the fuperintendance for several years. He was, at length, called off from his literary labours by avocations of a far different kind. A gentleman who afterwards derived the cognomen of "fingle fpeech Hamilton," from a celebrated oration, having been appointed fecretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, invited his friend Mr. Burke to accompany him thither; this offer he readily complied with, and although he acted in no public station, and performed no fervices to that then, as now, unhappy country, he was rewarded with following members: Dr. Johnson, Mr. (afterwards fir Joshua Reynolds), Dr, Goldfmith, Mr. Topham Beauclerc, Dr, Nugent, Sir John Hawkins, Mr. Bennet Langton, Mr. Chamier, Mr. Garrick, and Mr. Burke. The other affembled at the St. James's coffee-houfe, and befides many of the above, was compofed of the following members: Mr. Cumberland, Dr. Douglas, the prefent bishop of Salisbury, Dr. Bernard, dean of Derry, Mr. Richard Burke, Mr. William Burke, Mr. Hickey, &c. Dr. Goldsmith, who was Mr. Burke's contemporary at Dublin college, was a member of both, and wrote the epitaphs of those who com pofed the latter. That on Mr. B. has often been praised. The part, however, in which he terms him "too cool" for a patriot, appears ironical at the prefent moment. "Here lies our good Edmund, whofe genius was such, "We scarcely can praise it, or blame it too much; Who, born for the Universe, narrow'd his mind, "And to party gave up what was meant for mankind, "Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat, "Who too deep for his hearers ftill went on refining, "And thought of convincing, while they thought of dining; a penfion a penfion of 300l. per annum, which he foon after difpofed of for a fum of money *. On his return to England he amufed himfelf, as ufual, with literary compofition. A feries of Effays, written by him in a newspaper t, which, at one time, obtained great celebrity, attracted the notice of the late marquis of Rockingham; and Mr. Fitzherbert, a member of parliament, and father of the prefent lord St. Helen's, in confequence of this circumstance, introduced him to that nobleman. From this moment he was deftined to become a public man, and to dedicate his ftudies, his eloquence, and his pen, to politics. Lord Rockingham having proved more compliant than the earl of Chatham, the former nobleman was brought into power, and feated on the treafury bench. On this occafion he felected Mr. Burke as his private fecretary, an office of no power and very little emolument, but which naturally leads to both. As it was now neceffary he fhould have a feat in pa.liament, although it cannot be fuppofed that he was leg.llv qualified in refpect to property, he applied to lord Verney, who was patron of Wendover, a borough at that time dependent on him, and principally occupied by his tenants. By conflituents of this defcription the private fecretary of a firft lord of the treasury was inftantly nominated; and it is not a little remarkable that the fame men, who, during the period of his opulence, would have returned his horfe, had he been prefented as a candidate with a chriftian-name, actually efpoufed the cause of fortune against his lordship, and at the latter part of his life refused to return their quondam master! Soon after his return all political connexion with Mr. Hamilton ceafed; but we trust that the motive was more honourable than that affigned by a late biographer, in confequence of information derived from an intimate friend of both, a member of the prefent parliament." On finding Mr. H.'s abilities unaccompanied by that degree of induftry which leads to fuccefs, "he (Mr. B.) wrote a letter, the fubftance of which was an expoftulation concerning Hamilton's indolence; reminding him that be bemSelf had a growing family to maintain, and mufi turn bis talents to that would be a feful; and on th it account, that bị must politically affociate with men of more alive exertion, ” The Public Advertiser. Having thus obtained a feat in 1755, he prepared to fit himfelf for his new fituation. He was already provided with all the neceffary talents, and was only deficient in the forms of bufinefs, and the facility of expreffing his fentiments before a public audience. The first of these was mastered by fedulous attention; and as to the fecond, if we are to give credit to those who pretend to be intimately acquainted with this period of his life, he overcame all difficulties by a previous initiation elsewhere. In fhort he had acquired celebrity at the "Robinhood," before he attempted to speak in the British senate, and vanquished an eloquent "baker" ere he began to cope with the great orators of the nation. Holding a confidential place under the Rockingham adminiftration, he of courfe fupported all its meafures. A formar ministry, anxious to increase its influence by means of increased imports, had conceived the idea of taxing America through the medium of a parliament in which the was not reprefented. Having attempted to carry this into effect by means of the famous " "Atamp act," the Americans, alarmed at what they conceived to be a flagrant violation of every principle of the English conflitution, made fuch a fpirited refiftance to the measure that it was abandoned, and the Rockingham party readily confented to the repeal. Under the pretext, however, of vindicating the honour of the crown, they unfortunately propofed and carried the " Declaratory Act," by means of which, although the original scheme had been abandoned, the principle on which it was built was afferted anew, and a foundation laid for all the miferies that afterwards enfued. But if this fhort-lived adminiftration deferved no great credit on this occafion, it is entitled to confiderable praife on account of other parts of its conduct; for it repealed the cyder act, procured a declaration of the houfe of commons, condemning the feizure of papers, and a refolution against general warrants. The first of thefe afforded great relief to fuch of the counties as cultivated orchard grounds, and the two laft were called for by the criminal conduct of their predeceffors in refpect to Mr. Wilkes. |