31 « Mr. Geor 



adopted tliosc liberal notions of society 

 and government, wliicli, althong-li per- 

 liai)s true ill the abstract, yet, from the 

 present eonstitutioii of Iniman afT'airs, 

 and the prepollcney of previously re- 

 ceived opinions, cannot be brougiit into 

 practice in tlic ])resent a<!;c at any rate ; 

 jnid, if tiiey siiouM be attempted here- 

 after in any future period of societj', 

 from what wc know at present of human 

 nature, considerable modifications will 

 be rcf|uired. I''rom these associations 

 and views, I\Ir. Eurnett became dis- 

 gusted wiili a colleg:e life, and in con- 

 junction wiili liis college friends, and a 

 few more minds, of the same apparent 

 cast and ardoiu' with liis oMn, forKied a 

 plan of emigration to America U])on one 

 of the best Utopian schemes of policy, 

 rould it have been realized, which the 

 world had ever witnessed. It was shortly 

 Ihis: individital property uas defined to 

 be a great evil: all the cvih and the 

 errors in our civil institutioiis arise from 

 the system of i^idividual property : ergo, 

 if individual property be done atray : 

 'all the evils and errors in our civil in- 

 stitutions will be done away.* It is ra- 

 ther surprizing that the minds of these 

 young men possessed not suflTicient 

 acntcncss at the time to detect the egrc- 

 {rious fallacy of the minor proposition of 

 iJii.s syllogism. But so it was, after a fer- 

 vour of some months' continuance, the 

 parlies could not agree amongst tlicm- 

 sclves; emigration to America was ulti- 

 mately abandoned, and the yonng men 

 Iiad their several professions and pursuits 

 .in life yet to choose. One or two were 

 already in the high joad to poetical pre- 

 eminence, Mherc tiiey have since ar- 

 rived ; but, as Mr. Burnett's talents were 

 not of the melodiouskind, he was obliged 

 to attempt ascending by a dillerent 

 road ; but he could not go back to the 

 University for tliat purpose, his priih- 

 ciplcs would not permit him; lie, there- 

 fore, after iisigcring about for a year or 

 two, dependent u|)on the supplies which 

 he drew from his father, whose patience 

 and purse were by this time nearly ex- 

 liausted, sought a situation nuire con- 

 j^enia! 1o his feelings and opinions, and 

 got himself admitted a s'udent in the 

 dissenting college at Manchester. Af- 

 ter some time be was appointed pastor 

 of a congregation at Yarmouth ; but, 

 ■wlidt credit or success he had amongst 



* The abolition of individual properly, 

 and tlie distinctions avi'in^ tiieiefioni, 

 formed the giand liini;e npnn which their 

 eougration to America turncti. 

 2 



ge Burnett. [Nor. t,' 



the Dissenters, I have not heard. But 

 he did not remain long here. He after- 

 wards became, for a short time, a student 

 of medicine at the University of Edin- 

 burgh ; but eitlier his finances would not 

 cna'ile him to iinish his studies, or Iiis 

 fickleness of disposition prevented him; 

 probably both. Troni tiiis desire of 

 chaiige, altliough many efforts were 

 made for him by liis friends amongst 

 the literati, with whom he associated, 

 who were very desirous of assisting him 

 all they could, not one line of life did he 

 adopt which procured for him a pcr« 

 niancnt support; or, indeed, any degree 

 of respect amongst those very friends 

 wlio had constantly evinced that they 

 had his weUhrc most deeply at heart. 

 He Mas at one lime appointed, tlirougli 

 their ii:fiuence, domestic tutor to two 

 sons of Lord Stanhope, and, instead of 

 setting about this employment in good 

 earnest, idled away a month or moro 

 in a needless excursion to the country, 

 S(» that Btnnett had scarcely entered 

 upon his charge when both his pupils 

 left their noble fatlier's liousc: it is, 

 however, I believe true, that the younsf 

 men would not submit to the ph ns of 

 instruction which his lordshiji iiad dc* 

 signed tlicin to pursue; and justice com- 

 pels me to declare, that, in this affair, 

 Burnett had no hand; nor conid there 

 be time for either the development of 

 his talents or his temper, to produce any 

 personal <lislike. Lord St;inhope, witli 

 his accustomed liberality, paid Burnett 

 immediately two hnndtcd pounds, being 

 the salary for tlie year, at whicli sum 

 he was engaged. 



He afterwards became an assistant 

 surgeon in a regiment of niililia, 

 How long he remained attached to the 

 regiment of militia I have not learnt; 

 but, soon after he left it, he went to 

 Toland with the family of Count 

 Zanisyska, as English tutor. lu 

 less than a twelve-month he returned 

 again to England, quite without cm-, 

 ploymcnt. His father Iiad been, by 

 tills time, dead some years, and as so 

 much had been spent in his education, 

 in the disposal of his property at his 

 death, no part of it descended to George. 



Soon after his return from Poland, hia 

 book concerning that country, of which 

 I have before spoken, ajipeared. He 

 afterwards published, by the assistance 

 of the booksellers, his "Specimens of 

 Early Prose Writers," in three vo- 

 lumes, which were tolerably well re- 

 ceived. He also wrote the prehminary 

 uitioilijctioji to the Ujiivcrsal History, 

 published 



