BURKE. 



con 

 wli 



nficl.nblv afTeafd his hcakli, Dr. Nugent was called in, 

 lo removed him from the inadequate accommodations ot 

 the Temple to ihe comforts of his own houfe. The atten- 

 tion of the family, and the particilar kindnefs of Mils 

 Nii-rent led to a matrimonial connexion, in which Mr. 

 BurTcc's expedations of domcilic happinefs wert fully an- 



' Mr ' Burke's firll acknowledged publication was, " A 

 Vindicaiion of natural Society ; or a View of the Miferies 

 and Evils arifing to Mankind, from every Sp.-cies of artih- 

 cial Society," written in imitation of lord Bohi-.gbrokc, for 

 the puniofe of attacking ironically that writer's philo'.o- 



It did not 



the purjioL. 



phy, and expofing its injurious confequences. 



meet witli the reception which has fmce been thought lo 



have been ju'llv duo to its merit as a compofition. 



He was not however difcnii-aged by this failure from 

 publifhing his " EH'av on the Sublime and Beautiful," 

 which had been compofcd prior to the " Vindication," but 

 referved for the advantage of making a fir.1 appearance under 

 cover of a well-known and admired charafter. Both thefe 

 works came out in 1 756. 



Though ihere was no name to the " Inquiry," the firll 

 edition was fold within the year, and a fecond publi:|ied in 

 1757, with an " Introduftory Dilcourfe concerning Talte." 

 The applaufe which attended this performance was not tem- 

 porary, nor the conntaions conftq-.icrit on it without pcr- 

 •manei'it advantage. It procured him relief from his pecuni- 

 ary embarraifments, and an eafy introcKiclion to the circles 

 of the firll rank and abilities. Among the firil who fought 

 his acquaintance, were Dr. Johnfon and fir Jolhua Rey- 

 nolds, to whom lie has been fuppofcd to have furnilhed the 

 compofition of tlie " Difcourfe to the Royal Academy." 

 Much has been faid on the fubjea ; but there feems no rca- 

 fon for depriving the late illuftriou? prefidcnt of the fame at- 

 tached to an excellent writer, as well as an original and ac- 

 compli Ihcd artift. 



It was Mr. Burke's intention to have controverted the 

 theories of Berke'ey and Hume : he then thought of rival- 

 ling the hilloric labours of the latter in " Memoirs of his 

 own Times ;" for this purpofe, he had made himfelf mafter of 

 Englith hiltory, efpecially fince the revqlation ; and the 

 projeft ended 'in the eilaMidiment of Do-^.fley's " Annual 

 Regiftcr," a very valuable work, of which he had the 

 principal dircftion from 175S to 1789. 



In 1761, he accompanied " Single-fpeech Hamilton" to 

 Ireland. This latter gentleman made one very excellent 

 fpeech in the Englifh, and one more in the Irilli houfe of 

 commons ; and Mr. Burke has been faid to have been the 

 compofcr of both thefe fpeechts, but probably with as little 

 reafon as in the cafe of fir Joihua's difcourfes. On Mr. 

 Burke's return from Ireland, with a penfion of socl. per 

 annum, it was no longer rcceiTary to write for periodical 

 puldications. He, however, contributed occafionally to the 

 «' Public Advertifer," where the excellence of his writings 

 introduced him to the notice of the marquis of Rocking- 

 ham, while Mrs. Woffington recommended him to the duke 

 of Ncwcaftle. He accordingly became private Itcretary to 

 the marquis, at the inftance of Mr. Fitzherbcrt, and mem- 

 ber fi.r Wendover on lord Verney's interell, and thus com- 

 menced his political career. 



In February 171^4, was founded that club, which after- 

 wards became diltinguilhcd by the title of the Literary Club. 

 Sir Jodiua Reynolds was the firft propofcr, and Johnfon ac- 

 ceded to the plan, in the hope of enlarging his circle, and 

 recovering the opportunites for converfation, which he had 

 loll by the diffolution of the meeting in Ivy-Lane. The 

 original members of the literary club were, befides t'nc twj 



founders, Mr. Burke, Dr. Nugent, Mr. Beauclerk, Mr. 

 Langton, Mr. Chamier, fir John Hawkins, and Goldfmith. 

 They met at the Turk's Head, in Gerard ftreet, Soho, on 

 every Monday evening through the year. 



Abnut the time of Mr. Burke's entrance on public life, 

 men's minds were equally agitated by the meafures of go- 

 vernment refpefting Mr. Wilkes, and the growing difcon- 

 tents in America. Of the two parties in oppofition, that of 

 Mr. Pitt having infilled on very peremptory conditions, 

 refpefting court favourites and fccret advifcrs, the duke of 

 NewcalUe, of whofe party, on account of his age and in- 

 firmities, the marquis of Rockingham was confidered as the 

 leader, clofed with the terms on which a new adminillration 

 was propofed. Mr. Burke now, with a facility to which 

 he was too prone, feceded from his old friendihip v/ith Mr. 

 Hamilton ; but he is faid, at the fame time, to have re- 

 finned the penfion procured through that gentleman's in- 

 terell. From this time he became a profeil'ed party-man ; 

 a bondage to which he was in fome meafure compelled, by 

 laving himfelf under pecuniary obligations to the marquis of 

 Rockingham. The nature and extent of the favour he re- 

 ceived have been varioufly reprefented ; but it is certain, 

 that a confiderable part, if not the whole of the purchafe 

 money for his villa at Beaconsfield, of which he now took 

 poficffion, was promifed either as a loan or a gift by the 

 marquis. 



On hie entrance into parliament, he took infinite pains to 

 q'lalify himfelf for the difcharge cf his new duty. Among 

 other fources of improvement, he difdained neither the writ- 

 ings of the fathers, the fubtleties of the fchool divines, the 

 perufbl of precedents and records, nor the oratorical con- 

 tells of the Robin-Hood fociety. His principal opponent 

 at the I', obin Hood was a baker, of whom Goldfmith faid, 

 that " Nature intended him to have prefidcd in the court of 

 chancery." He procured liis feat in 1765, and his firft 

 fpeech was on the llamp aft. It attrafted the notice, and 

 obtained the applaufe of Mr. Pitt : Mr. Burke was princi- 

 pally confulted by the Rockingham adminitlration on the 

 affairs of America, and the middle courfe was adopted in 

 conformity with his advice. The wesknefs of the party, 

 and the feeblencfs of their policy, foon brought the miriiltry 

 to a clofe ; and its dilTolution was hallened bv Mr Burke's 

 projeft of a Canadian conflitution, which lord Northingtoa 

 condemned in the moll angry and contemptuous language. 

 Mr. Pitt then made his own terms, as he thought, with the 

 court. Mr. Burke had fcarcely time to defend the conduft 

 of his friends in piint, before their fucceflors refigntd, and 

 the parliament was difknved. Mr. Burke was re-eiefted for 

 Wendover, the Grafton miniftry came into power, and Mr.. 

 Burke was the principal orator of oppofition. He was ad- 

 verfe to the expulfion of Wilkes, and made an able fpeech 

 to prove his fubfequent eligibility, though he difliked the 

 general charafter of the m.an. About this time, the letters 

 of Junius began to appear ; and on this occafion, the public 

 have not loll fight of their propenfity to attribute all able, 

 compofition to Mr. Burke. There feems to be not the 

 lead foundation for fuppofing him to have been their au- 

 thor. He, however, gave his opinions and principles at 

 confiderable length, in his " Thoughts on the Caufes of the 

 prefent Difcontents," The leading features of this pam- 

 phlet were, a pointed inveftive againll inner cabinets and 

 fecrct influence, and a pifture of what a houfe of commons 

 ought to be. Thofe who feek in this work for proofs of 

 political apollacy in later life, will not find the evidence fo 

 decifive as they exptft. The remedies propofed were not 

 thofe of democracy, but of a fellow-feeling to be eftablifhed 

 between the ariilocracy and the people. As a proof that 



the 



