Account of Books for 1797. 
Memoirs of the Right Honourable Edmund 
Burke, by Charles M? Cormick, LL. B. 
4to, 1797. 
HIS work, which might with 
greater propriety be entitled 
Memoirs of and Striétures on the 
Political Condué& of Mr. Burke, 
gives us but little informatian te- 
fpecting Mr. Burke’s youth; and 
of his education, his habits, and his 
propenfities, fcarcelyany thing. For 
thefe deficiencies it, however, in 
fome meafure, compenfates, by a 
very ample detail of Mr. Burke’s 
public life, of his parliamentary 
{fpeeches, and of the correfponding 
hiftory of political parties. 
Having already in our Chronicle 
given the prominent features of the 
charaéterand fortunes of Mr, Burke, 
we fhall content ourfelves now with 
giving a few extracts from: Mr, 
M’Cormick’s boek; referving for 
a future volume, when we fizall be 
furnifhed with ampler documents, 
‘a fuller account of this illuftrious 
man, who claims particular regard 
from us as having been, during the 
fpace of one-and-thirty years, the 
principal conductor of the prefeat 
undertaking; of whicheircumftance 
Mr. M’Cormick takes notice in the 
following words :-— 
“ Mr. Burke admired the divet- 
fity of talents fo confpicuows in the 
labours of Hume and Robertfon, but 
did not lofe in that admiration the 
conicioyfnefs of his own. His 
emotions on reading their works 
very much refembled thofe of Cor- 
teggio, who, after examining Ra- 
phael’s mafter-piece with filent rap- 
ture at length exclaimed Ed io an- 
che sono fittove —“ And I too ama 
painter.”” Animated by this fenti- 
ment, he began to write memoirs of 
his own time; and having laid a 
fketch of his plan before the elder 
Dodfley, he received from that dif- 
cerning and fpirited bookfeller the 
moft liberal encouragement to carry 
it into execution. ‘The Annual 
Regifter for the vear 1758,” ac- 
cordingly made its appearance ; and 
it is but a faint echo of the national 
voice to aflert, that mo periodical 
work-had ever before been prefent- 
ed to the world in fo mafterly and 
fo interefting a form, or had fo well 
deferved the applaufe it everywhere 
met with. The beams of public 
favour did not relax but invigorate 
the writer’s efforts; and for more 
than thirty years the increafe of 
merit and the increafe of reputation 
were kept up by the continual dif- 
play of new and extraordinary pow- 
ers. In the year 1789, Mr. Burke 
declined this tafk, and transferred it 
to other hands.” 
Of Mr. Burke’s connexion with 
Sir 
