by profeffion an attorney of confiderable ability and extenfive practice. Mr. Shackleton, a quaker, who kept a fchool at Ballytore, near Carlow, was entrusted with the early part of his education; and he feems to have regarded his preceptor with a respect and gratitude that did honour to both; as for near forty years that he went annually to Ireland, he travelled many miles to pay him a vifit.'

On his leaving fchool, he was fent to Dublin college, and was contemporary with Goldfmith, who was accustomed to affert, that Burke did not render himself very eminent in the performance of his academical exercises.

He feems to have begun his literary career, in the fame manner that he ended it, as may be feen from the following paragraph, which both conceals the oppreffions under which Ireland then laboured, and the merits of the man who wished to vindicate the rights of his injured country:

In the year 1749, Lucas, a demagogue apothecary, wrote a number of very daring papers against government, and acquired as great popularity at Dublin as Mr. Wilkes afterwards did in London. Burke, whofe principal attention had been directed to more important objects than the categories of Ariftotle, perceived the noxious tendency of levelling doctrines. He wrote feveral effays in the ftyle of Lucas, imitating it fo completely as to deceive the public: purfuing Lucas's principles to confequences obviously refulting from them, and at the fame time fhewing their abfurdity and danger. The firit literary effort of his mind was an expofure of the abfurdity of democratical innovations. This was the Ticinus of our political Scipio.'

His favourite ftudies, at this period, are faid to have been pneumatology, logic, and metaphyfics, and he alfo applied himself with particular diligence to the investigation of Berkley's and Hume's fyftems.

While employed in treafuring up a profound knowledge to render himself useful, he did not neglect the means of rendering himfelf agreeable in the intercourfe of life. To the learning of a fcholar, he added the manners of a gentleman. His company was fought among the gay and fashionable, for his pleafing converfation and deportment, as much as among the learned for the force and brilliancy of his genius, the extent and depth of his knowledge. He had that great art of good breeding which rendered the members of the company pleafed with him and themselves. He had an inexhaustible fund of difcourfe, either ferious or merry, with wit and humour, poignant, ftrong, delicate, sportive, as aufwered the purpofe or occafion. He had a vast variety of anecdotes and flories, which were always well adapted and well told; and conftant cheerfulness and high fpirits. His looks and voice were in conftant unifon with the agreeablenefs, infinuation, and impreffiveness of his converfation and manner.

But though the object of regard and admiration in his native country, he did not fee much chance of acquiring in it an independent fituation. Ireland, though often the mother of genius, is rarely its nurfe. Burke feeing little profpect of foon raising him, felf in his own country, made his firit effay to attain permanent employment

employment in another. Soon after he had finifhed his academical ftudies, a vacancy took place in the profefforfhip of logic at Glafgow. A confiderable intercourfe had long fubfifted between the univerfities of Glafgow and Dublin, owing, probably, in fome measure, to their local pofition, but in a great degree to the tame of the eminent Hutchinfon, who had been educated at Dublin, and always entertained a clofe intercourfe with Ireland.

Burke, confcious of his metaphyfical knowledge, applied for the profefforship; but too late. Had he been fuccesful, the logick chair of Glafgow would have been ftill more eminent than the moral philofophy chairs of Glafgow and of Edinburgh, though the former have been filled by a Hutchinfon, Smith, and Reid; the latter has been occupied by a Fergution, and is now by a Stewart, Burke had planned a confutation of the berkleian and humeian hypothefis; but the active engagements of politicks afterwards prevented the completion of his fpeculative difquifitions.'

Disappointed in Glasgow, Mr. B. repaired to London, entered himself a member of the Temple, and it is very fairly inferred, from his fubmitting to the drudgery of regularly writing for daily, weekly, and monthly publications,' that he did not poffefs the handfome competency' of which his friends have fo frequently boafted.

Happening to call in the affiftance of Dr. Nugent during an illnefs, he was invited by that gentleman to his houfe, where among the most attentive to her father's patient and guest, was mifs Nugent, whofe general amiableness and particular tenderness to himself, foon excited a paffion in the fenfible heart of Burke. He offered her his hand, which fhe accepted; and, during a long life of various viciffitudes and trying fituations, had, in her footh ing and affectionate conduct, every reafon to rejoice at his lot.'

His firit acknowledged production was his Vindication of Natural Society, which is here faid, to have met with lefs fuccefs than its ingenuity deferved; like the paradoxes of the vicar of Wakefield's fon, it neither excited much praife or blame; like Hume's first effort, it fell dead-born from the prefs, but was afterwards revived by its younger brothers.' It was far otherwife with the Efay on the Sublime and Beautiful.

Soon after this, he commenced his political career, accompanied fingle-fpeech Hamilton to Ireland, when the latter went thither as fecretary to lord Halifax, and by his means obtained a penfion of 3001.

His effays in the Public Advertiser are faid to have first attracted the notice of the marquis of Rockingham, who fought for, and, as may eafily be imagined, readily obtained his acquaintance. Almost immediately after this, he became private fecretary to that nobleman, who was then at the head of the treafury. About the fame time, he feparated from his old friend Hamilton, who had taken an oppofite fide in politics, and the motives here affigned are not of the mott difinterested kind.

However expedient it might be,' fays Dr. B. for Burke to break off political intercourfe with Hamilton, as a most profound

admirer

admirer of his genius, I do not rejoice at the commencement of his acquaintance with the marquis of Rockingham. From that time he may be confidered as a party man. Burke ought not to have stooped to be the object of patronage. Like his friend Johnfon, he fhould have depended only on his own extraordinary powers. He would have been able uniformly to act as his own genius prompted him, instead of employing his talents in giving currency to the doctrines of others; to have wielded his own club initead of a party diftaff.

In this part of their conduct, Johnfon and Hume, the only two literary characters of the age, who can be placed in the fame rank with Burke, acted more worthy of the fuperiority with which they were bleffed by nature. They attached themfelves to no grandees, they did not degrade the native dignity of genius, by becoming retainers to the adventitious dignity of rank. Johnfen, in his garret, the abode of independence, was fuperior to Burke in his villa, the fee of a party. The former earned his fubfiftence by his labour, the latter received his by do. native. Johnfon was independent-Burke dependent. Betides, the very extraordinary talents of Burke did not tend to promote party objects more effectually than good abilities, many degrees inferiour to his, and mere knowledge of bufinefs would have done. But had he been as fuperior to others in party fkill as in genius and knowledge, the fertility of his fancy and the irritability of his temper must often have prevented him from directing his fkill fteadily to the moft ufeful ends, For fo much irafcibility a fituation of contention was ill fuited.'

After taking a brief furvey of his firft efforts in parliament, the author repeats and enforces his former opinion, by obferving, that his fequeffered exertions, as a man of genius, literature, and philofophy, could have produced much greater benefits to fociety, in the fame period, than his political efforts during the Rockingham administration.'

We are next prefented with a view of Mr. Burke, in private life, where he always appears amiable; but notwithstanding the attempts to pafs him for a wit, yet he feems to have been far inferiour in this point to many others of lefs note and ability.

It would lead us into too wide a field, to follow the political career of this extraordinary man; we fhall, therefore, content ourfelves with prefenting a defcription of his mode of life after he had retired from parliament, and experienced the lofs of a dearly beloved fon.

Burke now spent his time almost entirely in the country. In his literary ftudies, in the foothing company of his wife and friends, in the pleasing profpect of being able to fatisfy every juft demand, and to leave a competent provifion for the faithful and affectionate partner of his cares, in the exercife of active benevolence, and in the confcioufnefs of having done his duty, he received all the confolation, for the irreparable lofs he had fuftained, of which he was fufceptible. While he had employed every effort which a philanthropic heart could prompt, and the wifeft head could direct, for ftimulating civilized governments to combat irre ligion, impiety, immorality, inhumanity, cruelty, and anarchy,

he

he in a narrower fphere relieved, to the utmost of his power, those who had fuffered exile and profcription from the direful fyftem.' His, heart, his houfe, his purfe, were open to the diftreffed emigrants. Through his beneficent contribution and influence, a fchool was inftituted in his neighbourhood, for the education of those whofe parents, for adherence to principle, were unable to afford to their children ufeful tuition. This fchool still continues to flourish, and by the judicious choice of teachers, to anfwer the wife and humane purpofes of the institution.

While thus promoting the advantage of foreign fufferers, he did not relax in his attention to the humble and indufirious of his own countrymen, he continued to encourage and fuperintend benefit clubs, among the labourers and mechanics of Beaconsfield, and was himself a fubfcriber for their advantage. The ob- \ ject was, to encourage induitry, to cherish affection, to establish a fund of provifion for the fick and aged, which fhould not be merely eleemofynary, where frugality and activity fhould be the means, in fome degree, of independence, and to cheer parents with the profpect of having their children inftructed in religion, virtue, and the knowledge ufeful for their stations. The inftitution flourished under the aufpices of its founder. I converfed at Beaconsfield, with feveral of its members, foon after the author was no more, and from their plain unlettered fenfe, received the ftrongest conviction of the goodness of the plan, and the wifdom of the regulations; and in the emotion of their hearts, the expreffion of their countenance, the flowing of their tears, faw much more than I could have perceived from words-their adoring gratitude and admiration.'

Thefe employments, in which private beneficence is fo confpicuous, did not, however, withdraw his mind from the confideration of public affairs. Unfortunately for this country, an everlafting war against the french republic feems to have been the chief article of his political creed; accordingly, on the first overtures made by the miniftry to the french government, he inftantly refumed his pen, for, in the language of his biographer, having found that all his predictions from the principles and first phenomena of the french fyftem had been verified, and been in detail even worse than he had foreboded-that they difavowed every religious and moral obligation which regulates the conduct of menhe totally difapproved of agreements with them, their probable adherence to which would prefuppofe that they admitted the fame rules of morality as other men. How far this may be strictly true, we leave to candid and impartial men to determine.

It would be unjust, both to the author and the subject, to omit the concluding obfervations respecting Mr. B.'s perfon and character:

Mr. Burke was about five feet ten inches high, well made and mufcular; of that firm and compact frame that denotes more strength than bulk. His countenance, I am told, had been in his youth handfome. The expreffion of his face was lefs ftriking than one, who had not feen him, would have anticipated. During the vigour of his age, he had excelled at the manly exercises moft

9

common

common in Ireland, efpecially leaping, pitching the bar, and throwing the stone.

No charge has been more frequently made against Burke than one that would affect either his intellectual or moral character, or both. This was the charge of inconfiftency. The unjuftness of this charge has, I truft, appeared through this narration. more fully we confider his principles, reafonings, and conduct, the more minutely we examine the parts, the more comprehenfively we contemplate the whole, the more completely fhall we fee that Burke has been, in his intellectual proceffes, in his moral and political conduct, uniformly CONSISTENT.

"Let experience be your guide, avoid untried fpeculations." That maxim governed his reafonings refpećting America. "Experience (he faid) has fhewn you, that your former mode of treating your colonies has been beneficial; do not change that mode for an untried theory of taxation." Experience taught him, that religion was friendly to virtue and order. The leffon taught by his expofure of the Bolingbroke philofophy was: "Do not for fpeculations of infidelity, abandon thofe principles of religion which experience has taught you to be neceffary to good government, virtue, and happiness." In his letter to the fheriffs of Bristol, he fpeaks the fame language. "Some men propose untried fpeculations on the rights of man, as the foundation of government. I reprobate thefe notions, becaufe not fanctioned by experience."

On the french revolution his doctrine is, " religion, juftice, and regard to property, have been proved by experience to be neceflary to the well being of fociety. I reprobate a fyftem that difregards thefe principles; becaufe following my conftant guide, experience, I perceive that the new theory and practice muft be pernicious." He preferved confiftency, by varying his means, to fecure the unity of his end: when the equipoife of the velfel in which he failed, was endangered by over-loading it upon one fide, he carried the weight of his reafons to that which might preferve the equipoife. Thefe were the rules of his judgment and conduct. Adopting and applying thefe rules, from the beginning to the end of his intellectual, moral, and political efforts, Edmund Burke was confiftent.

The materials with which a mind fo endowed, fo guided, and fo operating, was furnished, were as extenfive as the hiftory and principles of phyfical and moral fcience, as the history and pracrice of art. Great as were his powers of acquirement, fuccefsfully as they had been exerted, his means of communication were no lets efficacious. No orator ever furpaffed him in the whole conitituents of eloquence, and in the most important few equalled him, in the information, principles, moral and political leflons, which his fpeeches and writings convey. If we judge from detached parts of his works, there may be inequalities found. In the ftructure of St. Paul's there may be ftones lefs fmooth than fome in a small cottage. We judge not from the minute parts, but from the whole of the maffy, firong, magnificent, and fublime work.