a 
42 
A plan of life more confonant to his 
withes, luckily opened to his view, and 
we find him, in confequence of the intro- 
duction of the prefent lord St. Helen’s 
father, patronized and proteéled by the 
Jate marquisof Rockingham. = 
Unhappily for the nation, the govern- 
ment, during the whole of the prefent 
reign, has been confided to a fuccetfion of 
parties, and while the obfolete terms of 
Whig and Tory have been bandied about 
to amufe and deceive the vulgar, the con- 
teft has, in reality, only been, to what 
fortunate portion of the ariftccracy, the 
fpoils of office, the management on one 
fruence, and the blandifhments of power 
Should be entrufted ? 
' After a feries of long and bitter dif- 
putes, in which the Bute, Chatham, and 
Pelham faétions were patriots and cour- 
tiers in -adminiftration and oppofition, as 
it fuited their interefts, the nobleman 
to whom we alluded above, was placed at 
the head of the Whigs, or, in other words, 
of the party out of place, in 1764, aad by 
their means became firft lord cf the trea- 
fury, in 1765. Mr. Burke was foon after 
appointed his private fecretary, and thus 
had an opportunity of being initiated into 
ali che fecrets and all the intrigues of the 
-eabinet. . . 
If the different parties. who by tusns 
had feized on the management of public 
affairs, difagreed on every other fubject, 
they were at leaft unhappily united in re- 
fpeé to one; this was the r/gbé to obtain 
a direét revenue from America. Indeed, 
the financiers of that day were either lefs 
able, or the people more fturdy than dur- 
ing the prefent ; for it appeared neceflary- 
that new fources of wealth thould be 
opened, in order to retain a political pre- 
ponderance in a country which, after the 
~ peace of Paris, it was luckily the fafhion 
to confider as exhaufted. “Aceerdingty, 
while the Rockingham admin:ftration 
~eoutitenanced the repeal of the ftamp aét, 
they did not concede, but on the contrary, 
infifted on the claim of Great Britain to 
tax the colonies: thus the feeds of a fu- 
ture war were cherifhed, during which 
this very party, when out of power, in 
exprefs oppofition to their ancient prin- 
ciples, but in ftri€t conformity with the 
fpirit of the confticution, manfully main= 
tained, that unreprefented America could 
not be lawfully aflefi-d by @ parliament in 
which fhe had nor a fuffrage. 
~ On the 30th of July, 1766, both the 
patron and the client retired from. publie 
Eres with the reputation of extraordinary 
Original Anecdotes Right Hon. Edmund Burke 
(July, 
difintereftednefs, and remained nearly fix- 
teen years in oppofition. The fituation of 
Mr. Burke, at this period, was far from 
being affluent, but he endured an honour- 
able poverty, in a manner worthy of him- 
felf, and had recourfe to literary purfuits, 
both for confolation aad fupport. ~ 
The late James Dodfley, in conjunétion 
with his brother Robert, the author of 
« Cleone,” «© The Economy of Human 
Life,” &c. had projeéted ‘a periodical 
work, fince known by the name of the 
“ Annual Regifter.” In this publication 
Mr. Burke took an a€tive fhare, and for 
many years fuperintended the: ‘hiftorical- 
department, a circymftances chat tended 
not a little to its celebrity. q 
Partly by the generofity of the marquis, 
and, if I-am not much miftaken, partly 
by the friendihip of the late lord Verpey 
alfo*, he foon became the preprictor of 
Beaconsfield, in confequencé of which he 
enjoyed am elegant retreat, where he was 
enabied to purfue his ffudies unideumbér- 
ed with the dread of want. This circum 
fiance provoked Dr. Johnfon to hazard 
one of his ill-natured remarks ; for on en~ 
tering the park, to vifit-a friend raifed te 
fudden affluence, he affeéted lets to admire 
the place, than the means by 
been obtained. . 
Ecing of a fociable turn, and addicted 
to the company of men of letters, Mr. 
Burke frequented feveral clubs of the day, 
articularly one at a tavern in Gerrard- 
ftreet, and another at the St. James’s 
Cyfce-houfe, to the Jatrer of which fir 
Jofeua Reynolds, Garrick, Cumberland, 
Dr. Douglas, now bifhep of Salifoury, 
Dr. Bernard, dean of Derry, Dr. Gold- 
fmith +, and many others were accuftom~ 
ed to reforr. = * | : In 
* Lord Verney told the writer of this article, a 
little before his death, “ Thatthe Burkes owed 
hifi 16,Gooh™? 32° 0 
+ Among the epitaphs-~written by the doéor, 
on the members of this club; is the following: 
whimiical one, on Mr. Burke: : 
“¢ Here lies our good Edmund, whofe genius 
was fuch, 
“© We tcarcely can praife it or blame it tco 
which ithad © 


much ; 
«© Who born for the univerfe, narrow’d. his 
mind, 
‘* And’ to party gave up what was meant for 
mankind. 
“Though fraughr with all learning, yet ftrain- 
ing his throat, 
“* To perfuad: Tommy Townihend to lend him 
2 vote 5 
‘¢ Who too.deep for his hearers till went ‘on 
+3 sehnings . Pa 
te And 
aS é 
* “ - 
