The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan

DRAMATIC WORKS.

THE RIVALS, a Comedy

207

ST. PATRICK'S DAY; or the Scheming Lieutenant, a Farce

288

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THE LIFE

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN.

SCARCELY anything remains at the present hour to attest the superiority of Richard Brinsley Sheridan over the great men of the times just passed away, but his contributions to the dramatic literature of the country, yet was he acknowledged to be at one period of his existence the most gifted genius of his age. Unfortunately for his memory, his last and least happy moments are those best remembered. He has been judged of when the decay of his intellect, the carelessness, nay, even the recklessness of his conduct, and the perplexities in which he was involved, had changed the character of the man. He has been regarded as the dissipated thoughtless butterfly that passed through an ephemeral existence; as one who was merely a brilliant ornament of society, or the boon companion of an idle hour. Far superior, however, was he to almost all those great personages who figured with him on the stage of existence in those qualities which are most highly prized in the busy section of the world.

His life is a romance. Even those who are wont to receive with incredulity the narrative of the biographer, believing him either a panegyrist labouring to exalt the hero who has excited his fancy, or the promulgator of some visionary doctrine, must acknowledge that the incidents which marked the career of Sheridan are too singular not to be recorded, and that they are of sufficient importance to be narrated by different individuals according to the respectivo views they entertain of the many events in which, from his

position in the world, he was necessarily involved. If genius of the highest order in literature, if the eloquence that enchants, rivets the attention, and likewise touches the human heart, if the mingling in every question that agitates an empire, and produces an influence upon it, if splendid success followed by the sad vicissitudes of Fate are ever objects of our curiosity, they are in no one instance more singularly exemplified than in Sheridan.

He lived in an age of excitement, of which those who are now in the meridian of their days can, from the repose which they have enjoyed, form but a feeble idea. He was one of the most active, the most intelligent, the most fascinating of those who have stamped their names upon that singular page of history. There was no event in which he was not a leader, there was no great question, whether foreign or domestic, that he did not investigate and pronounce an opinion upon, which was listened to with respect and admiration by a large portion of the nation. His voice was the guide of a great and influential party; he was the attached friend of a band of patriots; and through good and evil repute supported, with manly ardour, a cause which did not bring with it the emoluments of the world, nor did he leave the camp when it was unguarded by some, and almost betrayed by others.

Professor Smyth thus speaks of him :-"There were three others that flourished at the same time with him, the great minister and splendid debater, Mr. Pitt, the great philanthropist and orator, Mr. Fox, the great philosopher and enlightened statesman, Mr. Burke; but he who to a certain degree might be said to unite the powers of all was Mr. Sheridan. He had not in such high superiority the distinguishing qualities of each he had not the lofty tone and imposing declamation of Pitt-he had not the persuasive vehemence of Fox-he had not the inexhaustible literature and ready philosophy of Burke; but when he spoke on a great occasion, and prepared himself with all the necessary knowledge, nothing appeared wanting to the perfect orator. Grace of manner, charm of voice, fluency of language, and above all a brilliancy of sarcasm, a wit and a humour, and again a felicity of statement that made him the delight of every audience, and that excited the admiration of his opponents themselves."

The eulogium pronounced upon him by Lord Byron is

now somewhat trite, but it is most true: "Whatever Sherida has done or chosen to do, has been, par excellence, always tho best of its kind. He has written the best comedy, ‘The School for Scandal;' the best opera, ‘The Duenna'—in my mind far before that St. Giles' lampoon, the Beggar's Opera;' -the best farce, 'The Critic;' it is only too good for an afterpiece; and the best address, The Monologue on Garrick;' and to crown all, delivered the very best oration, the famous Begum speech, ever conceived or heard in this country." These, however, are but a portion of the claims which he has to the highest consideration; for scarcely had he attained the foremost rank amongst the comic writers of the age, when he astonished and delighted the statesmen who surrounded him with the clearness of his political views, developed with all the power and splendour of eloquence. His friends had but just marvelled at the dexterity with which he gained an influence over the heir apparent to the throne, and were canvassing the merits of the advice which guided that prince through paths of considerable difficulty, when even his op ponents were unanimously praising him in the loudest language for the exhibition of the purest patriotism, and admiring the conduct that he pursued during one of the most perilous moments that ever occurred in the annals of England —the Mutiny at the Nore.

The circumstances that are detailed in the following pages will, we think, plead an apology for many of the errors that have been strongly condemned; it will be found that a large portion of his pecuniary embarrassments did not originally spring from improvidence, but from the peculiar sources of his means, and from the unexpected position in which, at the very outset of his life, he found himself. He was placed, in an unaccountable manner, at the head of a great establishment, which seemed to yield unceasing means of expenditure, from whose treasury he was enabled to draw almost without acknowledgment; it appeared to offer endless wealth—the very purse of the Fortunatus of his childish days was in his hands. It was not only the inexhaustible vein of daily treasure, but it enabled him to multiply his means; to create new shares, to issue debentures, and to follow the thousand devices of the skilful financier was, for a length of time, as easy as to draw a cheque upon his banker. It afforded him a marriage sct.

tlement, or a new edifice, hence the mind became vitiated, false, and factitious views of property took possession of it; all was however paper money, based upon no solid means, it lured the credulous victim on, until he expected at every step more gold-he found at last that his wealth was visionary, and when compelled to acknowledge the melancholy truth, it was too late to recede. Harassed at every step, he had recourse to deception till it became systematic, he lost his caste in society, he sought relief in dissipation, and when his home was invaded by his angry creditors, he rushed to places where he gradually learnt habits that undermined his constitution and weakened his intellect. If, however, Sheridan was to be blamed, how much more so were his friends! how much more the public! It is a deep reflection upon the morals and upon the character of the country that such a man was allowed to suffer distress and misery; the selfishness of the great, the heartlessness of society, the mammon worship of the many was never more conspicuous than in its treatment of its devoted servant.

In this country virtue and talents may be respected by the few-wealth by all-he who loses the one may in vain pos sess the other, his welcome in that world which hung upon his shadow is past; the good that he has done is forgotten. Such was the fate of Sheridan; those who had been the warmest admirers of his splendid talents, were at first amused with the narratives of his cleverness in eluding the vigilance of his numerous creditors, but gradually they spoke of his imprudence, and then learnt to treat him with contempt. He had to stoop to the meanest subterfuges to escape from present embarrassment, or to degrade himself by the vilest cunning for a momentary supply of funds. How humiliating to his own mind must have been the comparison of the days when listening senates were hushed when he spoke!—how fearful to him must have been the remembrance of those brilliant hours of his youth, when he was the theme of general obser vation! Consider him, however, in what light we may, still did he maintain some superiority over all those by whom he was surrounded, and in almost every scene of his eventful life he was an actor who obtained and excited the wonder, if not the admiration of his contemporaries.

Even the romantic incidents attending upon his private life

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The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan: With a Short Account of His ...