need of your friendship can never be blotted from my remembrance. This is a subject which I could, with delight, enlarge upon; but I am convinced, from the constant pleasure you feel in conferring favours, you would rather do a thousand generous actions than be told of one."

This grateful testimony was equally honourable to both parties; and of the liberality of Mr. Sheridan, notwithstanding the errors which he committed, another instance should be here related. A person who had written a dramatic piece upon some temporary circumstance, put it into the hands of the manager, who, with his wonted carelessness, threw it aside and forgot it, till the season elapsed, after which it could be of no use. When the author applied for his manuscript, and gently remonstrated on the treatment he had met with, Mr. Sheridan returned him his play, accompanied by a handsome letter of apology, inclosing a bank note of the value of one hundred pounds, as an atonement for his neglect. Among the dramatic exhibitions which have been attributed to his genius about this period, one of the lowest description was the pantomime of "Robinson Crusoe, or Harlequin Friday," which was solely indebted for its uncommon success to the popularity of the story, the beauty of Loutherbourg's scenery, and the skill of the performers: but, as a composition, it was justly observed at the time to be "a proof that even the greatest genius will sink beneath contempt when he contends with a mechanic in his own profession."

CHAPTER V.

Early Connexions.-Lord John Townshend.—Mr. Fox.-Political Associations. -Senatorial Ambition.—Electioneering Manœuvres.-Attempt upon Honiton. -Success at Stafford.

AN inclination to wander from the beaten course of practical wisdom and utility, where an independence might have been honourably acquired, to indulge in romantic speculations and idle pursuits, seems to have been a common failing in the family of Sheridan. The secession of the British Roscius from the stage, and the liberal disposition of his theatrical property, opened a source of wealth to his successor, which, in a few years, would have placed him in a state of affluence, and established his reputation upon a solid basis. Though Garrick possessed unrivalled merit as a performer, and of course reaped an immense harvest from his professional exertions, Mr. Sheridan was not without some corresponding advantages, for he had already attained high distinction in the department of dramatic composition best adapted to replenish the treasury of his theatre, and to gratify the public taste. It might have been expected, therefore, that, with such talents and encouragement, he would have devoted himself to the cultivation of a field already prepared to his hands, and from which he could not fail, with due exertion, to clear an income adequate to every reasonable wish.

But unfortunately for Mr. Sheridan, and equally unfortunate for the concern in which he was embarked, his thoughts took a turn to political associations; and he was led to believe that, if he could secure a seat in parliament, he should soon gain an ascendency there

which must eventually raise him to a situation much more dignified and lucrative than that which he held in the direction of a playhouse. The ill success of the contest with America, and the increasing difficulties of Lord North's administration, certainly held out a prospect of establishing themselves in power to the leaders of opposition and their adherents. Mr. Sheridan had long been attached to this party; and his most intimate companions consisted of those who were the assailants of the minister in the senate. His great friend, Mr. Burke, was one of the number; but a congeniality of sentiment, and a similar gaiety of disposition, united him more closely to Mr. Fox, with whom he became acquainted through Lord John Townshend, for which we have his lordship's authority in a letter written to a common friend after the death of Sheridan, and apologizing for his unavoidable absence at the funeral. " I am one," says he, "of Mr. Sheridan's earliest friends. He, I, and poor Tickell (whose memory, with all his faults, will ever be dear to me), lived together in the closest habits of friendship, from earliest life, long before Sheridan's introduction to public life, before the DUENNA's appearance, before he was known to Fox, to whom I had the pleasure of introducing him. I made the first dinner party at which they met, having told Fox that all the notions he might have conceived of Sheridan's talents and genius from the comedy of the Rivals, &c. would fall infinitely short of the admiration of his astonishing powers, which I was sure he would entertain at the first interview. This first interview between them (there were very present, only Tickell and myself, and one or two more) I shall never forget. Fox told me, after our breaking up from dinner, that he had always thought Hare, after my uncle Charles Townshend, the wittiest man he ever met with, but that Sheridan surpassed them both infinitely and Sheridan the next day told me that he was quite lost in admiration of Fox, and that it was a puzzle to him to

few

say what he admired most, his commanding superiority of talent and universal knowledge, or his playful fancy, artless manners, and benevolence of heart, which shewed itself in every word he uttered. Ever afterwards we continued intimately and closely connected to the hour of his death, and nothing could give me a severer pang than to have it supposed that I was remiss in my duties upon the last sad occasion."

With such fascinating powers of conversation, it could be no wonder that the circle of Sheridan's acquaintance enlarged when he became known to persons of the first distinction in the world of fashion. But the charm of wit, like every other ephemeral pleasure, is productive of no utility; and when eagerly courted, it becomes dangerous to the possessor, by fostering vanity, and encouraging indolence. The liveliness of Mr. Sheridan, his readiness at repartee, and his unrestrained flow of words, on any subject, without the smallest appearance of premeditated thought or affectation of manner, naturally made him the delight of every convivial party into which he entered. They who once witnessed the brilliancy of his discourse, were anxious for a repetition of the pleasure which they had experienced; and others, upon their report, felt as ardent a desire to enjoy the same gratification. It would perhaps be too severe to call this a factious reputation, but certainly it was one that had no solid basis; and consequently it neither tended to increase the knowledge nor to improve the circumstances of him, who merely, on account of the elegance of his language, and the pleasantry of his wit, was a general object of admiration. The principal of Mr. Sheridan's political friends entertained a strong opinion that the eloquence which was at all times at his command would render him a very valuable acquisition to their ranks in the House of Commons. Consultations were held upon the subject: and as the time for the natural dissolution of parliament was drawing very

near, an overture was made to the late Duke of Portland for one of his boroughs. His grace, however, being either already engaged to other persons, or affecting to be so, by way of excuse, this application failed; on which it was found necessary to seek for success in different directions.

It seems not a little extraordinary, that among the various acquaintance of Mr. Sheridan, none of them had weight enough to secure a borough for him, by their interest with the various great families to whom they were allied, and who were as zealous on the side of opposition as any of the party. Through the influence of Mr. Fox, it might have been expected that an admission into the House of Commons would have been attended with no difficulty, and at little expense. But the case was otherwise: and though it is probable that every trial was made to obtain a seat in the easiest and most accommodating way, by recommendation and patronage, Mr. Sheridan was left to try the customary expedients in those places where the electors enjoy their own privilege of volition in the choice of proper persons to represent them in parliament. At the time when the dissolution took place an opening offered at Stafford, where Mr. Monkton was also a candidate, with a tolerable prospect of success, and who very generously promised to use his exertions on the behalf of his friend Sheridan. But being aware of the uncertainty attending all determinations that are to be decided by the caprice of a multitude, Mr. Sheridan made a tour into the west, to examine personally the condition and temper of those boroughs which were free from any controuling power to direct their election. While he was upon this circuit, some of his friends were equally diligent in their inquiries, and among the rest an eminent artist, who had no slight influence with his relatives and acquaintance in his native town of Honiton. That influence he spontaneously employed in promoting the views of Sheridan; and when he found that there