HENRY BROOKE, dramatist, novelist, and essayist, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1703 (1706 according to some authorities). After graduating at Trinity College, Dublin, he studied law and settled in London to practice, but it does not appear that his literary work left him much time to do so. Besides “The Fool of Quality,” in five volumes, and other novels, he wrote thirteen tragedies, and occasional poems. Pope and Swift gave him their friendship and patronage, and he was popular with what was then the aristocracy of letters. His novels and dramas are only read now by the curious, but such essays as “What is a Gentleman?” are sure to remain popular with readers of all classes.