sition." Attempts were in vain made to heal the breach thus made between two men who had so often fought together mighty battles against power, against corruption and tyranny. A meeting took place at Burlington House, according to a previous arrangement; it lasted from ten o'clock at night until three in the morning; and never was there a more remarkable display of talent on both sides. Burke was, however, implacable; all communication ceased between them; and though Sheridan spoke of him, in the House of Commons, as one for whose talents and personal virtue he had the highest esteem, veneration, and regard, all was in vain. Burke spoke of him with asperity from that time forward; and attributed to his unwarrantable interference his own secession from his former party.

It was alleged that Sheridan had hastened on this separation by his imprudent speeches, and that this was the result of jealousy, and an anxious desire to fill the place in Charles Fox's esteem that for a quarter of a century Burke had enjoyed. Of the littleness that could invent this calumny we may speak with contempt; but of the eagerness to diffuse the venom we think with disgust. It is not unlikely that Sheridan should have urged on this explanation of the differences which existed in that great party, whose chief end and aim was declared to be the love of a pure and well-defined constitution, which, whilst it guarded the liberties of a people, acknowledged frankly the great principles of royalty, and of a House of Lords.

A speech made by Sheridan on a motion of Mr. Grey, against any interference in the war between Russia and the Porte, is well worthy of perusal, as illustrating the informa tion, and likewise the discretion and tact with which he could handle a subject of difficulty. It is remarkable for the avowal of a doctrine that the prerogative of the crown to declare war might prove obnoxious to the House, and that there existed an ancient, constitutional, and most useful function of a British House of Commons to advise the Crown, and by a due application of their preventive wisdom to save the country from that expense and calamity into which they might otherwise be plunged, either by the terror of ministers, their imprudence, their neglect, or their corruption.

Mr. Sheridan retired, in the month of April, from the busi

ness of the House; during this period there are no records of speeches to be met with, no traces of his occupation. In fact, his mind was harassed by many conflicting thoughts; Mrs. Sheridan's state of health excited the deepest apprehension. She was compelled to seek change of air at Clifton. The state of Drury Lane Theatre, too, was such as to be a source of much anxiety to him; it had been pronounced by competent persons to be unfit to receive large audiences, and that it was necessary that it should be rebuilt. The circumstances attending such a determination could not fail to require all the attention of Mr. Sheridan; his time and mind were devoted to the completion of the plans that were now devised, and from which hopes were entertained that ultimate advantages would ac crue. These hopes were not destined to be fulfilled; and we may look to this period of this great man's life as the one from which sprang all the ultimate misfortunes that gradually overpowered him. He had now attained the zenith of his reputation. His popularity, his talents, and his exertions were all the theme of general eulogy. Though some slight embarrassments had occurred, they had passed away like the fleeting clouds across the summer sun; but he was now destined to fall from the giddy height, and to feel how transitory are all the gifts of fortune. He had, it would seem, three establishments, and his style of living was such as became a man mingling in the richer class of society, and enjoying all that luxury can give. To build the theatre seemed an easy task; all that was required was one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. This was raised with the utmost facility in three hundred debentures of five hundred pounds each; but the difficulty of paying the interest of that large sum was scarcely calculated upon. Three instalments were to be paid up, and as soon as one was paid all was prepared. On the 4th of June, his Majesty's birthday, Old Drury Lane, the scene of so many extraordinary circumstances, closed for ever; the company went to the Opera House, and from thence, when the musical season commenced, to the Haymarket, where they played at advanced prices. On the 4th of September the first stone of the new theatre was laid. Unforeseen difficulties, fresh expenses, vexatious negotiations, combined to retard the completion of the new theatre; and during this interval a sad calamity occurred.

It was in the year 1792 that Sheridan had to mourn over the grave of his beautiful and affectionate wife. She was only thirty-eight years of age, when a pulmonary disease bereft him of the cherished partner of his happiest days; from that moment a blight fell upon him-he soon became an altered man. There was no one who was ever admitted into her presence that did not feel there was a divinity about her. Jackson, the great composer, said, "that to see her, as she stood singing beside him at the pianoforte, was like looking into the face of an angel." The Bishop of Norwich was wont to say, that she seemed to him the connecting link between woman and angel;

even the licentious and coarse John Wilkes was fascinated into respect and admiration he pronounced her the most beautiful flower that ever grew in nature's garden. "This beautiful mother of a beautiful race" united so many charms, was so gifted by art as well by nature, as to surpass the ordinary beings of the earth. The incense that was offered at her shrine doubtless produced some influence upon her mind, which from her earliest years had been accustomed to the sweetest sounds of flattery. She was taught by a host of admirers that she was the theme of general adoration; she listened to the voice of the charmer, and the ill nature of the world, which never brooks superiority in an individual, accused her of coquetry, of levity, nay, of forgetfulness of the high duties which women are called upon to perform, when they would be held up as examples to their sex. Still she was a ministering angel to Sheridan; and whatever may have been the occasional sources of their disunion, she entered into all his cares and anxieties with the devotion of an attached and affectionate woman. Her letters breathe a spirit of tender love, of pride in the man of her choice, of deep anxiety and solicitude for nis success in each of his undertakings. She assisted him in all the varieties of public character he was called on to assume; the dramatist, the manager of a playhouse, the statesman, found in her one fully capable of appreciating his powers, of embellishing them, of drawing them. out. She was an admirable judge of poesy-herself a poet; she was a useful critic of the drama; she was skilled in electioneering; and everything that to him was an object of importance became for her a source of inquiry. Probably most of the readers of "Moore's Life of Sheridan" have felt that

the chapter dedicated to the death of Mrs. Sheridan is one of the most perfect of all that have appeared; and to that we must refer for an insight into the character of this most interesting woman. He has collected together a number of letters that exhibit, in their full charms, all the bright virtues with which she was adorned, and sufficiently account for the deep grief which her loss inflicted upon her husband. Whatever may have been those imperfections which she, in common with the rest of mankind, inherited, they of course were forgotten, and quickly buried in oblivion; whilst memory loved to cherish the remembrance of those fascinations which charmed all who approached her. Sheridan mourned over his sad loss, and turned with hope to a child in whom he thought, perhaps, he might see her mother's virtues, and her mother's charms reflected. Of this consolation, however, he was deprived; she died under circumstances which must have poignantly added to his grief. "A large party was assembled at Sheridan's to spend a joyous evening in dancing, all were in the height of merriment; he himself remarkably cheerful, and partaking of the amusement, when the alarm was given that the dear little angel was dying. It is impossible to describe the confusion and horror of the scene." His affliction was severe. The child, in death, was so like her mother that every one was struck with the resemblance; for four or five days Sheridan lingered over the remains. His sense then taught him to bear up against the affliction, which had bent him down, and he became resigned to the loss of his cherished hopes.

Kelly says, "I never beheld more poignant grief than Mr. Sheridan felt for the loss of his beloved wife; and, although the world, which knew him only as a public man, will perhaps scarcely credit the fact, I have seen him night after night sit and cry like a child, while I sang to him, at his desire, a pathetic little song of my composition

On the 13th of December the House assembled; during the vacation the aspect of affairs had gradually become more serious. The speech from the throne announced the necessity of calling out the militia; that there existed a design to attempt the overthrow of the constitution, evidently pursued in connection and concert with persons in foreign

countries; that the utmost efforts had been made to observe a strict neutrality in the war on the continent, and to avoid any interference in the internal affairs of France. But there existed strong and increasing indications there of a determination to excite disturbance in other countries, to disregard the rights of neutral nations, to extend its limits by conquest, as well as to adopt, towards other states, general measures not conformable with the laws of nations or existing treaties. It was incumbent on Parliament to take steps to augment the naval and military force, and to maintain internal tranquillity. The speech concluded.

The address was moved by Sir James Sanderson, the Lord Mayor of London, and seconded by Mr. Wallace. An amendment was moved by Mr. Fox, who, looking upon it as the production of the ministry, felt that he had a right to deny the assertions contained in the speech; he did not believe in the existence of an insurrection, nor any desire to excite one; that the alarm only existed in the artful designs and practices of the ministry; there never was at home a greater spirit of loyalty; and as for those who were fighting for liberty in France, he wished them success. His amendment was, that the House should enter into an immediate examination of the facts which were stated in the speech, and had been the cause of thus summoning Parliament.' An animated debate ensued;" in which, on one side, the opinions of Burke, of Wyndham, and of Dundas, were given; on the other, those of Grey, of Erskine, and of Sheridan.

Wyndham expressed his regret that he was compelled to oppose his former friends, but was satisfied that the nation was in peril; and though there might be tranquillity on the surface, there was beneath confusion and tumult.

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Sheridan's speech was concise, but admirably to the point. "He believed the formidable band of republicans which had been mentioned to exist in this country to be men in buckram." Such was his idea of the character of Englishmen, that he would take upon him to assert, that were but one French soldier to land upon our coast, under the idea of effecting any change in our government, every hand and heart in the country would be roused by the indignity, and unite to oppose so insulting an attempt." "As to the question of war, he should vote that English ministers be impeached