Official Negligence.-Violence of Opposition.-Parlia- mentary Acrimony.-Struggle between the Commons and the Crown.-Activity and Wit of Sheridan.-Dis- solution of Parliament.-Return for Stafford.-West- minster Election.-Sketch of Biography.-Humorous Debate on the Horse Tax.-Political Horn Book.- Death of Miss Maria Linley.-Elegiac Verses by Mrs. Sheridan.--Westminster Scrutiny.-Irish Proposi- tions.-Tour in Lancashire and its Consequences.- Authors of the Rolliad, and Probationary Odes.- Strange Infatuation of the Irish People.-Rejection of the Fortification System.-Opposition to the Sinking to it by the Minister.-Mr. Sheridan opens the Seventh Commercial Treaty with France.-Debates on Financial Questions.-Affairs of the Prince of Wales.-Reported Marriage of his Royal Highness to Mrs. Fitzher- bert.-Abuses in the Post-Office.-Difference between Character of the Opposition.-Anecdotes of Mr. Courte- nay.-Ordnance Estimates.-Dispute with Bearcroft on the Law of Evidence.-Prosecution of Stockdale for a Libel.-Comparative View of the two India Bills. -Notice of that Pamphlet in the House.-Opposition to the licensing of Sadler's Wells.-Observations on Trial of Mr. Hastings.-Eloquence and Violence of Mr. Burke-Strange Proposition of the Managers.- Debate thereon by the Lords.-Speech of Mr. Fox.- His Opinion of the Law and Usage of Parliament.- Mode of examining Witnesses.-Altercation between Mr. Sheridan and Major Scott.-Spirited Conduct of Sir Elijah Impey.-Motion to inquire into the Ex- penses of the Proceedings.-Speech of Mr. Sheridan MEMOIRS or THE RIGHT HONORABLE R. B. SHERIDAN, &c. &c. INTRODUCTION. Antiquity of the Family of Sheridan.-Memoirs of Doctor Thomas Sheridan.-Anecdotes of Dean Swift. ONE of the oldest and most acute of the French moral writers has observed, "That not only are the marks of the body transmitted from father to son, but also a resemblance of temper, complexion, and inclinations of the mind." However bold and fanciful this position of Montaigne may appear at first sight, a particular attention to the family history of celebrated persons will furnish many striking illustrations in support of its probability, That of the Sheridans, for instance, exhibits such a strong and remarkable succession of hereditary B talent and imprudence, of genius and extravagance, as to render a detailed account of the lineage for a century past necessary in the memoir of its last and brightest luminary. The name, which is of very ancient standing in the sister kingdom, and conspicuous in its annals, clearly denotes an aboriginal stock, the shoots of which have spread widely, and been transplanted by the fluctuation of time, and the varieties of fortune, in so many directions, as to have lost all knowledge of their source, and every trace of their affinity. Some branches have continued firmly rooted in their natal soil, and in the profession of their ancient faith; while others, more versatile, have removed to distant provinces, intermixed with English and Scotch families, and conformed, without difficulty, to the religion established by law. Several of these obtained considerable preferment in the national church, soon after the Reformation; and in the reign of Charles the Second, Dr. William Sheridan held the united see of Kilmore and Ardagh, of which he was deprived at the Revolution, for refusing to take the oaths of allegiance to the new government. At the time when this learned and conscientious prelate presided over that diocess, of which he was a native, there lived near him two or three families of the same name, who claimed his lordship as their relation. Among these was Thomas Sheridan, a Country gentleman, possessed of a small estate at Uaghteraghy, in the county of Cavan. He was a protestant, and a man of very generous sentiments, well beloved in his neighbourhood for his hospitable disposition, and particularly esteemed by the gentry around, on account of his spirit as a sportsman, and his superior skill in the management of horses and dogs. That knowledge and liberality, however, which raised him in the estimation of his neighbours, only served to impoverish his circumstances, and to embarrass him in difficulties. These were at last so great, that though he contrived to give his only son Thomas an excellent education at the school of Cavan, he found himself incapable of supporting him at the university. One thing, indeed, the father did, which marked more discretion than usually characterized his conduct, and that was the resolution he took of getting rid of his pack of hounds, upon observing that Thomas neglected the school for the dog kennel. At the age of sixteen, through the recommendation of the deprived Bishop of Kilmore, and the assistance of some friends of the family, the youth was entered a scholar of Trinity College, Dublin. Here he pursued his studies with great credit, and procured the good opinion of his superiors, by his readiness to oblige, and the friendship of his companions, by his pleasantry. Having taken his degrees, and entered into orders, he suc ceeded to a fellowship, but soon lost the benefit of it, by marrying before he had obtained such a |