Lord Mornington, after the mover and the seconder had gone through the usual routine of saying a vast deal about nothing in the ordinary form of eloquence, commenced an elaborate speech to prove that as long as the French maintained the principles they had adopted, the war should not be relinquished. "Mr. Sheridan began with observing that the noble lord who had just sat down had divided a speech, more remarkable for its ability than its brevity, into two parts: the first, a detail of all the atrocities that had been committed during the whole course of the Revolution in France; the second, a kind of posthumous arraignment of the offences of Brissot and his associates. As he did not perceive any noble or learned member inclined to rise on behalf of the accused, so he conceived the pleadings on the part of the prosecution to be closed; and as the Speaker was evidently not proceeding to sum up the evidence, he hoped he might be permitted to recall the attention of the House to the real object of that day's consideration. He admired the emphasis of the noble lord in reading his voluminous extracts from his various French documents; he admired, too, the ingenuity he had displayed in his observations upon those extracts; but he could not help further expressing his admiration that the noble lord should have thought proper to have taken up so many hours in quoting passages in which not one word in ten was to the purpose, and often where they did apply to the question, they directly overset the principles they were brought forward to support." He then delivered a speech, which has been handed down to us corrected by himself; hence are we enabled to form some opinion of the readiness with which he could

answer an opponent, the immense mass of matter connected with the politics of Europe that he had thoroughly digested, and the soundness of the views of the party he represented. Had this speech only remained for the judgment of posterity of the general principles maintained and the soundness of the policy pursued by the advocates for peace, it would have been enough. The frenzy, folly, and rashness of individuals in France had been roused by the surrounding nations, their fears had been excited, great and dreadful enormities had been committed at which the heart shuddered, and which not merely wounded every feeling of humanity, but disgusted and sickened the soul-all this was most true; but what did it prove? -what but that eternal and unalterable truth which had always presented itself to his mind. A few days afterwards Sheridan took occasion to explain to the minister, who in his simplicity and innocence seemed to be ignorant of its meaning, the nature of a ministerial job; and he gave a curious list of persons who had received money for services not performed, observing that he was only influenced by motives of goodwill to the persons. Mr. Pitt very injudiciously asked, if he made that assertion, could any member of the House credit it? Mr. Sheridan was about to rise, when he was interrupted by Mr. Fox declaring that in his opinion, founded upon experience, Mr. Sheridan had as much personal credit in that House as Mr. Pitt. Sheridan rose: "Whether," said he, "if I repeat my assertion, any member of the House will doubt it or not, I cannot say; but I believe that it is in this House alone that the right honourable gentleman will venture to tell me so." The subject, however, dropped, after some remarks from Mr.

Hanley and Mr. Yorke on the impropriety of personalities during the serious business of the House. Mr. Sheridan spoke this session ably on several subjects which have now lost their interest, such as on the naval force at that period, on the defensive state of Halifax, on a petition from Fysche Palmer suffering from imprisonment, on a judgment of the Court of Session in Scotland upon the introduction of foreign troops into the country, on voluntary aid for raising troops without the consent of Parliament, and on taxing placemen upon the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act.

At length Drury Lane was rebuilt. Heavy had been the expenses and the disappointments; and, above all, the law had been appealed to. On the 10th of March a grand concert, formed of selections from Handel, collected together a large audience, and on the 21st of April the first dramatic performance took place. The play was "Macbeth"; the afterpiece, "The Virgin Unmasked." The prologue on the occasion was by General Fitzpatrick. The house was found generally well adapted for performances, and gave great satisfaction. There was a tribute to the memory of the old house which was universally approved of; a plank of the stage which Garrick had so often trod was preserved, and formed a part of the new flooring. In a short time a little piece was brought out by Sheridan in honour of Lord Howe's victory; it was called the "First of June."

On the 30th of December Parliament met for the despatch of business. Sheridan was at his post, still maintaining the same opinions, still fighting against his great adversary. A speech of his upon the repeal of the Bill for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act

gave him an opportunity, of which he fully availed himself, of showing that it was uncalled for by the state of the country; he expatiated on the detestable system of spies and informers, of the charges of sedition, of levying war, of trials, and solemnly asked Mr. Pitt what would be the state of the country which would restore to British freemen the most glorious bulwark of their freedom. Upon Mr. Fox's motion for a committee on the state of the nation he spoke with great ability; the two friends, backed by a small minority, still continued to express with freedom those opinions which were entertained by a large body of men in England, who, satisfied with the security which the laws gave them, wished for no other change but such as would give to the people at large more ample opportunity of expressing their wishes through their representatives, and whose desire was such a reform in the House of Commons as might take from the proprietors of boroughs the preponderating influence they held.

On the 1st of June, Mr. Anstruther, Solicitor-General to the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, acquainted the House that his Royal Highness had authorised him to assure the House that he was anxious that some regulation should be adopted for the purpose of establishing order and regularity in the expenditure of his income, and to prevent the incurring of debt in future, and further, to appropriate such a part of his income for the liquidation of his debts as might seem proper to the House. The prince was no longer on terms of intimacy with the leading Whigs, nor did they feel any wish to renew their homage to him. Mr. Grey, although he would vote for his having an income sufficient to support him in his position, would not pay

his debts from the money of the people. Mr. Fox asked if he was well advised to apply to the House after the promise in 1787. Mr. Sheridan thought the prince's debts ought to be paid, but his Majesty should set the example. He accused those who had given him advice. By the plan now proposed, the prince had not the grace of suggesting retrenchments, nor the checks upon his future conduct. His past misconduct was exhibited in the harshest point of view; he was set in a gilded pillory, sent to do public penance in an embroidered sheet. He was left in possession of too much income to exempt him from envy and too little to exempt him from scorn. To pay the debts something ought to be given by the king. He afterwards proposed that the estates belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall should be sold to assist in the liquidation of the debts. Mr. Sheridan continued to make remarks on the king. In the course of the debates he repudiated having received any reward, as had been insinuated, from the Prince of Wales, and positively asserted, in the face of the Parliament and the country, that he had not even been presented with a horse or a picture, and that he was independent in his views and opinions of the royal prince.

Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Sheridan pursued his former friend, Burke, with the same determination he had done in the previous session; but some of the allusions are now almost unintelligible sarcasms. Ill-natured observations abounded on both sides. A quotation from a convivial writer of the day, Captain Morris, whose songs are almost now forgotten, was hailed from Burke with great cheers by his party, and responded to by Sheridan's friends, when he had with great felicity quoted also from the