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are in danger of losing ourselves amidst the various beauties with which it is enforced and embellished. The same characteristics distinguished the oratory of Mr. BURKE, that are still perceived in his compositions; but though he rarely, if ever, failed to delight his hearers by his manner and his matter, he too frequently weakened the effect of his elocution by not stopping at the right period of his argument; the consequence of which was, that those who had been charmed and convince by the former part of the speech, became, at the close of it, languid, tired, and indifferent.

In domestic life Mr. BURKE exhibited such a striking contrast to his associates, that it is a matter of some surprise how a person of his philosophical principles and temperate habits could endure a connexion with men, most of whose time was dissipated, to use no worse term, in midnight revelry over the bottle, or at the gamingtable. To reconcile private vice with public virtue is a task which no casuist has yet ventured to undertake in a free and impartial spirit; nor would any one engage in the proof that the union is consistent, were it not from a desire to justify particular characters, whose morals have been at variance with the professions which they set up in the face of the world. Dr. Price was well aware of this, and therefore, in one of his political sermons, he took occasion, sharply, to reprobate the pernicious maxim, that patriotism and profligacy could exist in the same person. He did this in reference to the leaders of the party to which he belonged, and he lamented most devoutly and sincerely, that while, by their oratorical powers, these great men were upholding and propagating the same doctrines with himself, as being essential to human happiness, they rendered them altogether nugatory by the most scandalous conduct in the ordinary transactions of life.

When the French Revolution broke out, it was seen that public and private virtue cannot be separated, without endangering the fundamental principles upon which all social order must stand, and by the consummation of which the rights of individuals can alone be secured.

In that storm, BURKE appeared impregnable, like the rock whose basis is infixed in the foundation of eternal morality, while the political sophists of the day, having nothing stable in their minds for

the regulation of their conduct in perilous times, were driven about by every wind that blew, having no point of certain distinction, nor any principles upon which they could depend for their guidance and security, amidst the sea of revolutionary strife, from which, as they and others vainly flattered themselves, a new world of perfection was about to arise. Most of these visionaries have dropped into oblivion, and the few that remain are so little known, that their very names will in a short space be forgotten. BURKE, on the contrary, has left an imperishable memorial; every day increases its value, and future ages will have recourse to it for the maxims of political wisdom in the government and direction of life. Whatever may be thought of those infirmities which he possessed in common with the rest of mankind, or of the errors into which he occasionally fell, he had the singular merit of dissolving the links of party, at a critical period, when that party began to assume the dangerous part of a faction, under a leader whose ambition, admitting no restraint,

"Sprung upwards, like a pyramid of fire
Into the wild expanse, and through the shock
Of fighting elements, on all sides round
Environ'd, won his way."

Taking, therefore, a retrospective glance at that part of our national history, and duct of the men who distinguished themlooking steadfastly upon the opposite conselves when the horrors of the Revolution had nearly broken in upon the shores of Britain, one cannot help admiring the intrepid spirit that first and last opposed himself the hatred of his compeers. Not the torrent, and for so doing brought upon in the least intimidated by their taunts and reproaches, he pursued his course, and by that firmness became a main instrument of rousing the nation to that resistance against anarchy, which ultimately gave peace to the world. Like the faithful seraph, so admirably painted by the poet, he stood

Among innumerable false, unmov'd, Unshaken, unseduc'd, unterrified; His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal; Nor number, nor example, with him wrought To swerve from Truth, or change his constant mind, [pass'd

Though single. From amidst them, forth he Long way through hostile scorn, which he sus

tain'd

Superior, nor of insolence feared aught;
And with retorted scorn his back he turn'd
On those proud towns to swift destruction
hurl'd."

ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER.

THE late Mr. Burke, from a principle of unaffected humility, which they, who were the most intimately acquainted with his character, best know to have been in his estimation one of the most important moral duties, never himself made any collection of the various publications with which, during a period of forty years, he adorned and enriched the literature of this country. When, however, the rapid and unexampled demand for his "Reflections on the Revolution of France," had unequivocally testified his celebrity as a writer, some of his friends so far prevailed upon him, that he permitted them to put forth a regular edition of his works. Accordingly, three volumes in quarto appeared under that title in 1792, printed for the late Mr. Dodsley. That edition, therefore, has been made the foundation of the present, for which a form has been chosen better adapted to public convenience. Such errours of the press as have been discovered in it are here rectified; in other respects it is faithfully followed, except that in one instance, an accident of little moment has occasioned a slight deviation from the strict chronological arrangement; and that, on the other hand, a speech of conspicuous excellence, on his declining the poll at Bristol, in 1780, is here, for the first time, inserted in its proper place.

As the activity of the Author's mind, and the lively interest which he took in the welfare of his country, ceased only with his life, many subsequent productions issued from his pen, which were received in a manner corresponding with his distinguished reputation. He wrote also various tracts, of a less popular description, which he designed for private circulation, in quarters where he supposed they might produce most benefit to the community; but which, with some other papers, have been printed since his death, from copies which he left behind him fairly transcribed, and most of them corrected as for the press. All these, now first collected together, form the contents of the last volume. They are VOL. 1.-1

disposed in chronological order, with the exception of the Preface to Brissot's Address, which having appeared in the Author's lifetime, and from delicacy not being avowed by him, did not come within the plan of this edition, but has been placed at the end of the last volume, on its being found deficient in just bulk.

The several posthumous publications, as they from time to time made their appearance, were accompanied by appropriate prefaces. These, however, as they were principally intended for temporary purposes, have been omitted. Some few explanations only, which they contained, seem here to be necessary.

The "Observations on the Conduct of the Minority in the Session of 1793," had been written and sent by Mr. Burke as a paper entirely and strictly confidential; but it crept surreptitiously into the world, through the fraud and treachery of the man whom he had employed to transcribe it, and, as usually happens in such cases, came forth in a very mangled state, under a false title, and without the introductory letter. The friends of the Author, without waiting to consult him, instantly obtained an injunction from the Court of Chancery to stop the sale. What he himself felt, on receiving intelligence of the injury done him by one, from whom his kindness deserved a very different turn, will be best conveyed in his own words. The following is an extract of a letter to a friend, which he dictated on this subject from a sick bed:

"Bath, 15th Feb. 1797. "MY DEAR LAURENCE,-On the appearance of the advertisement, all newspapers, and all letters have been kept back from me till this time. Mrs. Burke opened your's, and finding that all the measures in the power of Dr. King, yourself, and Mr. Woodford, had been taken to suppress the publication, she ventured to deliver me the letters to-day, which were read to me in my bed, about two o'clock

"This affair does vex me; but I am not in a state of health at present to be deeply vexed at any thing. Whenever this matter comes into discussion, I authorize you to contradict the infamous reports, which (I am informed) have been given out; that this paper had been circulated through the Ministry, and was intended gradually to slide into the press. To the best of my recollection, I never had a clean copy of it but one, which is now in my possession; I never communicated that, but to the Duke of Portland, from whom I had it back again. But the Duke will set this matter to rights, if in reality there were two copies, and he has one. I never shewed it, as they know, to any one of the Ministry. If the Duke has really a copy, I believe his and mine are the only ones that exist, except what was taken by fraud from loose and incorrect papers by S- to whom I gave the letter to copy. As soon as I began to suspect him capable of any such scandalous breach of trust, you know with what anxiety I got the loose papers out of his hands, not having reason to think that he kept any other. Neither do I believe in fact (unless he meditated this villainy long ago) that he did or does now possess any clean copy. I never communicated that paper to any one out of the very small circle of those private friends, from whom I concealed nothing.

"But I beg you and my friends to be cautious how you let it be understood, that I disclaim any thing but the mere act and intention of publication. I do not retract any one of the sentiments contained in that Memorial, which was and is my justification, addressed to the friends, for whose use alone I intended it. Had I designed it for the public, I should have been more exact and full. It was written in a tone of indignation, in consequence of the resolutions of the Whig Club, which were directly pointed against my self and others, and occasioned our secession from that club; which is the last act of my life that I shall under any circumstances repent. Many temperaments and explanations there would have been, if I had ever had a notion that it should meet the public eye."

In the mean time a large impression, amounting, it is believed, to three thousand copies, had been dispersed over the country. To recall these was impossible; to have expected that any acknowledged production of Mr. Burke, full of matter likely to interest the future historian, could remain for ever in obscurity, would have been folly; and to have passed it over in silent neglect, on the one hand, or, on the other, to have then made any considerable changes in

it, might have seemed an abandonment of the principles which it contained. The Author, therefore, discovering that, with the exception of the introductory letter, he had not in fact kept any clean copy, as he had supposed, corrected one of the pamphlets with his own hand. From this, which was found preserved with his other papers, his friends afterwards thought it their duty to give an authentic edition.

The "Thoughts and Details on Scarcity" were originally presented in the form of a Memorial to Mr. Pitt. The Author proposed afterwards to recast the same matter in a new shape. He even advertised the intended work under the title of "Letters on Rural Economics, addressed to Mr. Arthur Young;" but he seems to have finished only two or three detached fragments of the first letter. These being too imperfect to be printed alone, his friends inserted them in the Memorial, where they seemed best to cohere. The Memorial had been fairly copied, but did not appear to have been examined or corrected, as some trifling errours of the transcriber were perceptible in it. The manuscript of the fragments was a rough draft from the Author's own hand, much blotted and very confused.

The "Third Letter on the Proposals for Peace" was in its progress through the press when Mr. Burke died. About one half of it was actually revised in print by himself, though not in the exact order of the pages as they now stand. He enlarged his first draft, and separated one great member of his subject, for the purpose of introducing some other matter between. The different parcels of manuscript, designed to intervene, were discovered. One of them he seemed to have gone over himself, and to have improved and augmented. The other, (fortunately the smaller,) was much more imperfect, just as it was taken from his mouth by dictation. No important change, none at all affecting the meaning of any passage, has been made in either, though in the more imperfect parcel, some latitude of discretion in subordinate points was necessarily used.

There is, however, a considerable member, for the greater part of which, Mr. Burke's reputation is not responsible: this is the inquiry into the condition of the higher classes. The summary of the whole topic indeed, nearly as it stands, was found, together with a marginal reference to the bankrupt-list, in his own hand-writing; and the actual conclusion of the letter was dictated by him, but never received his subsequent correction. He had also preserved, as materials for this branch of the subject, some scattered hints, documents, and

parts of a correspondence on the state of the country. He was, however, prevented from working on them, by the want of some authentic and official information, for which he had been long anxiously waiting, in order to ascertain, to the satisfaction of the public, what with his usual sagacity he had fully anticipated from his own personal observation, to his own private conviction. At length the reports of the different Committees, which had been appointed by the two Houses of Parliament, amply furnished him with evidence for this purpose. Accordingly he read and considered them with attention; but for any thing beyond this the season was now past. The Supreme Disposer of all, against whose inscrutable counsels it is vain as well as impious to murmur, did not permit him to enter on the execution of the task which he meditated. It was resolved, therefore, by one of his friends, after much hesitation, and under a very painful responsibility, to make such an attempt as he could at supplying the void; especially because the insufficiency of our resources for the continuance of the war was understood to have been the principal objection urged against the two former "Letters on the Proposals for Peace." In performing with reverential diffidence this duty of friendship, care has been taken not to attribute to Mr. Burke any sentiment which is not most explicitly known, from repeated conversations, and from much correspondence, to have been decidedly entertained by that illustrious man. One passage of nearly three pages, containing a censure of our defensive system, is borrowed from a private letter, which he began to dictate, with an intention of compris. ing in it the short result of his opinions, but which he afterwards abandoned, when, a little time before his death, his health appeared in some degree to amend, and he hoped that Providence might have spared him at least to complete the larger public letter, which he then proposed to resume.

In the preface to the former edition of this letter, a fourth was mentioned as being in possession of Mr. Burke's friends. It was in fact announced by the Author himself, in the conclusion of the second, which it was then designed to follow. He intended, he said, "to proceed next on the question of the facilities possessed by the French Republic, from the internal state of other nations, and particularly of this, for obtaining her ends; and, as his notions were controverted, to take notice of what, in that way, had been recommended to him." The vehicle which he had chosen for this part of his plan was an answer to a

pamphlet which was supposed to come from high authority, and was circulated by Ministers with great industry, at the time of its appearance in October, 1795, immediately previous to that Session of Parliament when his Majesty for the first time declared, that the appearanco of any disposition in the enemy to negotiate for general peace, should not fail to be met with an earnest desire to give it the fullest and speediest effect. In truth, the answer, which is full of spirit and vivacity, was written in the latter end of the same year, but was laid aside when the question assumed a more serious aspect, from the commencement of an actual negotiation, which gave rise to the series of printed letters. Afterwards, he began to rewrite it, with a view of accommodating it to his new purpose. The greater part, however, still remained in its original state; and several heroes of the Revolution, who are there celebrated, having in the interval passed off the public stage, a greater liberty of insertion and alteration than his friends, on consideration, have thought allowable, would be necessary to adapt it to that place in the series for which it was ultimately designed by the Author. This piece, therefore, addressed, as the title originally stood, to his noble friend, Earl Fitzwilliam, will be given the first in the supplemental volumes, which will be hereafter added to complete this edition of the Author's works.

The tracts, most of them in manuscript, which have been already selected as fit for this purpose, will probably furnish four or five volumes more, to be printed uniformly with this edition. The principal piece is entitled "An Essay towards an Abridgment of the English History;" and reaches from the earliest period down to the conclusion of the reign of King John. It is written with much depth of antiquarian research, directed by the mind of an intelligent statesman. This alone, as far as can be conjectured, will form more than one volume. Another entire volume also, at least, will be filled with his letters to public men on public affairs, especially those of France. This supplement will be sent to the press without delay.

Mr. Burke's more familiar correspondence will be reserved, as authorities to accompany a narrative of his life, which will conclude the whole. The period during which he flourished was one of the most memorable of our annals. It comprehended the acquisition of one empire in the east, the loss of another in the west, and the total subversion of the ancient system of Europe by the French Revolution; with all

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