vening
party, whose business was it?

When he was invited out to dinner he did the meal such justice that he
needed nothing the following day; and the welcome discovery was also
made that fasting produced an exaltation of the "spiritual essence that
was extremely favorable to writing good poetry."

Burke had wit, and what Johnson called a "mighty affluence of
conversation"; so his presence was welcome at the Turk's Head. Burke and
Johnson were so thoroughly well matched as talkers that they respected
each other's prowess and never with each other clinched in wordy
warfare. Johnson was an arch Tory, Burke the leader of the Whigs; but
Ursa was wise enough to say, "I'll talk with him on any subject but
politics." This led Goldsmith to remark, "Doctor Johnson browbeats us
little men, but makes quick peace with those he can not down." Then
there were debating societies, from one of which he resigned because the
limit of a speech was seven minutes; but finally the time was extended
to fifteen minutes in order to get the Irish orator back.

During these nine years, once referred to by Burke as the "Dark Ages,"
he had four occupations: book-browsing at Dodsley's, debating in the
clubs, attending the theater on tickets probably supplied by Garrick,
who had taken a great fancy to him, and his writing.

No writing man could wish a better environment than this: the friction
of mind with strong men, books and the drama stirred his emotions to the
printing-point.

Burke's personality made a swirl in the social sea that brought the best
straight to him.

One of the writers that Burke most admired was Bolingbroke, that man of
masterly mind and mighty tread. His paragraphs move like a phalanx, and
in every sentence there is an argument. No man in England influenced his
time more than Bolingbroke. He was the inspirer of writers. Burke
devoured Bolingbroke, and when he took up his pen, wrote with the same
magnificent, stately minuet step. Finally he was full of the essence of
Bolingbroke to the point of saturation, and then he began to criticize
him. Had Bolingbroke been alive Burke would have quarreled with
him--they were so much alike. As it was, Burke contented himself by
writing a book after the style of Bolingbroke, carrying the great man's
arguments one step further with intent to show their fallacy. The
paraphrase is always a complement, and is never well done except by a
man who loves the original and is a bit jealous of hi