Linley did not then sufficiently appreciate the value of his son-in-law, that he was hardly satisfied with his determination to prevent his daughter again appearing before the public, and that he was an unwilling labourer with him in the vineyard which was to produce such a valuable harvest. It must indeed have been gratifying to him to find that the "Duenna" was hailed with such rapturous delight, and that it maintained a position on the stage for so many years. Much is undoubtedly owing to the judgment and musical talent of Linley; some of the airs he introduced will ever be heard with delight. The air, with Sheridan's touching words, "By him we love offended," the production of the well-known Rauzzini, was a favourite in the musical world throughout Europe. It was the production of that great master to whom England is so deeply indebted for some of the first vocalists we have had; for, together with his own instruction, he instilled into the minds of his pupils, amongst whom Braham is the last, to visit Italy, to study at Rome under Latilla, or at Naples under Monopoli, Finerolli, or Porpori, at that time the most distinguished of music-masters. Rauzzini himself, however, was unequalled as a musician; from his rich stores much has been gleaned up to the present hour. His career was a singular one. He was a native of Rome, and from the exquisite sweetness of his voice had been selected, in compliance with the miserable taste of that age, to be rendered fit for singing in a style then much admired, but which modern judgment has rejected. He performed the parts of the principal female, as no woman was allowed upon the stage in the Holy City. His singular beauty became the theme of general conversation;

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he was courted and flattered everywhere. On his visit to Munich, a distinguished personage evinced such admiration and heaped such caresses upon him that the ruling prince gave him a delicate hint, to which he was compelled to pay attention, that the time had arrived when his talent had ceased to be attractive. Rauzzini, with some indignation, resented the want of hospitality, and serious results were apprehended, when an invitation to England induced him to undertake an engagement at the Italian Opera; for the furore had spread to London, and his acting, his singing, and his compositions were at once fashionable. Garrick pronounced his "Pyramus" "the finest piece of representation he had ever witnessed on the Italian stage"; but, alas! a change came over the "spirit of the dream"; the climate affected his voice, and he never perfectly recovered from its effects. He settled in Bath, where for years he continued to teach, to compose, and preside at the pianoforte at all the great musical festivals. Beloved by every one, he was the centre of a most accomplished circle, comprising all the taste and talent of Bath. At Christmas Eve, Billington, Storace, Mora, Braham, and all the firstrate musicians of the day assembled; a concert, consisting of the "Messiah," was given to the public, from which Rauzzini drew a portion of his income. This, alas! never equalled his expenditure, the consequence of which was the embitterment of his latter days; but to the last he maintained a splendid establishment, and was looked up to as one of those to whom Bath was indebted for its popularity. Whenever the venerable old man took his accustomed seat in the orchestra, tokens of regard and respect awaited him, and to the last he preserved beauty of countenance of a striking character.

In the year 1775 Garrick decided to quit the scene of his many triumphs, and to retire from the theatre which he had for so long a period managed with singular felicity. He had just then attained the sixtieth year of his age; and although whenever he appeared before the public he met with an enthusiastic reception, he resolved to resign his position, and to place in other hands the power he had so long wielded. He had very lately gone to considerable expense for various improvements in Drury Lane Theatre, hence his determination appeared somewhat sudden, and produced considerable surprise. When it was whispered who the individual was into whose guidance he was likely to commit the management, much conversation was naturally excited. Although it was known that Garrick had always most favourably expressed himself of the talent and character of the youthful author, and had specially introduced him to the first literary men of the day, it was likewise borne in mind that Sheridan's father had never been on good terms with Roscius, and that on several occasions he had expressed himself with considerable animosity against him, and had shown a degree of haughtiness in his demeanour towards him that was likely to alienate the kind feelings which actuated Garrick, who when, according to Davies, he spoke to a publisher of Mrs. Sheridan's comedy, the "Discovery," eulogised it in language of the most favourable character, and even went so far as to say that the play was one of the best that he had ever read, and that money would be well laid out in its purchase. It is true that from the elder Sheridan there was little of rivalry to be dreaded by Garrick, although he was occasionally thrust forward as his equal. As a speaker and declaimer few were to be

compared with him; but his monotonous tones, his pedantic manner, and his studied action, came but badly into competition with the impassioned tones and the naturally expressed feelings of Garrick. However much the theatrical world was surprised at the predilection which the veteran master of the stage exhibited for the youthful aspirant, no one doubted that the choice had fallen upon one fully equal to the task he had undertaken. He had already shown a thorough knowledge of the stage, and had brought forward the labour of his intellect, with considerable acquaintance of the points which tell with an audience. He had evinced much skill in placing before the public the "Duenna"; he had contrived to unite the dialogue and the music in a more pleasing way than usual, and his assiduity peculiarly touched the fancy of Garrick, who would not listen to numerous applicants, who no sooner heard of the probable change than they stood forward in hopes of becoming his successor. Colman would have willingly been the purchaser, but was desirous of being the sole proprietor, and as this could not be arranged, he abandoned a negotiation which he had commenced. Most probably Sheridan Iwould not have been his successor had not Garrick anticipated, from the kind manner and the thoughtlessness of his young friend, that he himself would continue to direct the theatre and to maintain an influence which he felt loth at once to abandon. In the month of June a contract was entered into by which Sheridan came into possession of twófourteenths, Mr. Linley the same, and Dr. Ford three-fourteenths, making, for the purchase of Garrick's share, the total sum of thirty-five thousand pounds: the letters which passed between Sheridan

and Linley on the subject were placed in the hands of Moore, and were published by him in his biography.

Every one who looked on this transaction was astonished at the speculative disposition of Sheridan; they marvelled at the whole of this singular transition from nothingness to the possession of an immense property. Unaccustomed as they were in those days to the bold operations of which the present age affords such numerous instances, of purchases made without one single sixpence of money being advanced, all looked with an eye of wonder and suspicion at the sudden acquisition. It was already whispered that the young author lived far beyond his means; that he was associating with the great and the wealthy; that he ventured to entertain upon a liberal scale, and that there were no visible funds from which his wealth was drawn. Various have been the explanations offered, and many channels have been pointed at as those from which he was enabled to meet the

demands which were made upon him. There is, however, little doubt that he was advised by some able financier at his first outset, and that from Garrick he experienced the most generous consideration; but with whatever assistance he was furnished, it was not sufficient, as the embarrassments which gradually grew upon him fully proved. From this period may be traced the commencement of those difficulties which harassed him in after life, and that carelessness which ended in a recklessness that almost became proverbial. The embarrassments which he had to encounter, and which he fought off with adroitness, with wit, with practical jokes, and with every species of cunning, have been the theme of the humorist for many a day, and anecdotes, which sprang out of them, have