The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1868-12-30
Edmund Burke.
BY JAMES PARTON.

It was Of Edmund Burke that DR.,
johnson said: "No man Of sense
could meeehfm by accident under a
eate-wsS, to avoid shower, without
Being convinced that he was the first
man in England. Ii
"Burke, sir" said the gr4f I'D phil.
osopher at another time, "is such a
man that if you met him for the first
time in the street, where you were
stopped by.a drove of oxen, and !. you
and fhe stepped aside for shelter but
for five MINUTES, he'd talk to you in
such manner that when you parted
you would say; This is an .-extraor-
binary man. Now, you may: be long
enough; with me without finding e~5
thing extraordinary."..
" On another occasion' when Dr
johnson was sict,[and burkes name
was mentiop<d, he said:
"Tbstfelow calls forth all my pow
ers.~(NN ere Ito see, Burke now it
could kill me-"
These utterances express whatS ev-
cry one feels on reading the works OF
this extraordinary man. Whether
you agfsh With him OK not, you can
not but be amazed at the, fullness of
his mind and the splendor of his tai
ents. His knowledge, his abundance
off imagery, his command 4cf language,
the majesty and luxuriance of his
style, compel the admiration OF the
reader, even at the moment when he
IS most strongly dissenting from the
authors opiniops. ...
Edmund Bhske, the son of an Irish
attorney in large practice and of con-
siderable wealth, was boga in Dublin
in 1870, His tather was a Rfdtestant
and his mother a Catholic-i' None of
his ancestors, so far as we know, ex-
hibited any particular talent, and
there vas but one of his fourteen
BROTHERS anG sisters whdattracted at
tention for their ability. His sister,
Juliana, alone possessed the --same
quality OF mind as himself. . ~
"Had nature destined her for the
other SEX" SAID, zone other friends,I q
member of the Irish bar, who knew
,her long and we'll :ashe would have
been as great an oratsr as hcr, brather
Edmund. In her consersation there
was so much of elegance, as well as
of ability, that I often remArked, il
would have been difficult to transpose
e Uord to. advantageril. - ai!ss:s... ~,
It is, perhaps, not unusual for one
brother and one sister in a large fnmi
ly to exhibit talents, while the rest o
family are only ordinary mortals, or
at least, not remarkable. :. There Is
family now living in the 5Jnitet
! States, and particularly well know
to the readers of the Ledger, whlcl
might be quoted as a case in point.
In Ireland, when the father is o
one, religion ard the mother OF anoth
er, there is often an agreement tina
the sons shall be educated in the faith
er's creed, and the daughtersfin th
mothers. Edmund Burke. therefore
was reared. a. Protestant, and remain
ed all his life member Of the churc
of England. At school, he was pre-
ciselY such boy as we should expec
IAN eager reader of. the literature c
ell lands, and wholly taken up. wit
tthe culture of his nIind. ,.Dns days a
ter he had made an astonishing di
play of his talents. in the House {
,Commons, his brother Richard mac
"a remark which will suffice for ou
purpose:
Il have been wondering" said hi
chow Ned has contrived to monop'
! lie all the taleats of the family; bl
then. again. I remember. when, y
were at play he was alWays-at work.
At the age. of fourteen, he entere
Trinity College, In Dublin, where /
gemained during the usual perio'
He was not distinguished at coneg
FThe reason probably wass that bein
most ardent in the pursuit of know
edge, he did not copfne his exertio1
|. to the college. course, but gave ia
share of his attention to History, Sc
s ence, and Literature more to the a
> vantage Of his mind than Of his r 2
T.. "a