His was the thunder- his the avenging rod, The wrath. the delegated voice of God! Which shook the nations through his lips—and blazed Till vanquished senates trembled as they praised.* And here, oh! here, where yet all young and warm The matchless dialogue — the deathless wit, The glowing portraits, fresh from life, that bring Here in their first abode you still may meet, Bright with the hues of his Promethean heat; Which still the splendor of its orb betrays. Commons. Mr. Pitt entreated the House to adjourn, to give time for a calmer consideration of the question than could then occur after the immediate effect of the oration.-"Before my departure from England," says Gibbon, "I was present at the august spectacle of Mr. Hastings's trial in Westminster Hall. It is not my province to absolve or condemn the governor of India; but Mr. Sheridan's eloquence demanded my applause; nor could I hear without emotion the personal compliment which he paid me in the presence of the British nation. This display of genius blazed four successive days," etc. On being asked by a brother Whig, at the conclusion of the speech, how he came to compliment Gibbon with the epithet "luminous," Sheridan answered, in a half whisper, "I said 'voluminous.'"] *["I heard Sheridan only once, and that briefly; but I liked his voice, his manner, and his wit. He is the only one of them I ever wished to hear at greater length." - Byron's Diary, 1821.] But should there be to whom the fatal blight Still let them pause - ah! little do they know That what to them seemed Vice might be but Woe. accuser — judge — and spy, The foe the fool — the jealous — and the vain, The envious who but breathe in others' pain, These are his portion but if joined to these And stoop to strive with Misery at the door, * [This was not fiction. Only a few days before his death, Sheridan wrote thus to Mr. Rogers: - "I am absolutely undone and broken-hearted. They are going to put the carpets out of window, and break into Mrs. S.'s room and take me: 150%. will remove all difficulty. For God's sake let me see you!" Mr. Moore was the immediate bearer of the required sum. This was To soothe Indignity-and face to face Meet sordid Rage- and wrestle with Disgrace, Black with the rude collision, inly torn, By clouds surrounded, and on whirlwinds borne, Driven o'er the lowering atmosphere that nurst Thoughts which have turned to thunder- scorch and burst.* But far from us and from our mimic scene To mourn the vanished beam - and add our mite written on the 15th of May. On the 14th of July, Sheridan's remains were deposited in Westminster Abbey, - his pallbearers being the Duke of Bedford, the Earl of Lauderdale, Earl Mulgrave, the Lord Bishop of London, Lord Holland, and Earl Spencer.] [In the original MS. * "Abandoned by the skies, whose beams have nurst, The worthy rival of the wondrous Three!* Ye men of wit and social eloquence! † He was your brother bear his ashes hence! While Powers of mind almost of boundless range, ‡ Fox-Pitt- Burke. ["In society I have met Sheridan frequently. He was superb! I have seen him cut up Whitbread, quiz Madame de Staël, annihilate Colman, and do little less by some others of good fame and ability. I have met him at all places and parties and always found him convivial and delightful.”—Byron's Diary, 1821.] ["The other night we were all delivering our respective and various opinions upon Sheridan, and mine was this:-'Whatever Sheridan has done or chosen to do has been par excellence always the best of its kind. He has written the best comedy (School for Scandal), the best drama (in my mind, far beyond that St. Giles's lampoon, the Beggars' Opera), the best farce (the Critic -it is only too good for a farce), and the best address (Monologue on Garrick), and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the famous Begum speech) ever conceived or heard in this country.' ·.'"' — Byron's Diary, Dec. 17, 1813.] 1 THE DREAM. ["The Dream "— called in the first draught "The Destiny" was written at Diodati, in July, 1816, and reflects the train of thought engendered by the recent quarrel with Lady Byron. The misery of his marriage led him to revert to his early passion for Miss Chaworth, whose union had proved no happier than his own.] (237) |