deer;—he shall present to her the spoil of his bow on his knee; shall watch without reward the cave where she sleeps; he shall rob the birds for feathers for her hair, and dive for pearls for her neck;-her look shall be his law, and her beauties his worship!", He then endavours to prove that, as it is the destiny of man to be ruled by woman, he ought, for his own sake, to render her as fit for that task as possible :-"How can we be better employed than in perfecting that which governs us? The brighter they are, the more we shall be illumined. Were the minds of all women cultivated by inspiration, men would become wise of course. They are a sort of pentagraphs with which nature writes on the heart of man; what she delineates on the original map will appear on the copy."

In showing how much less women are able to struggle against adversity than men, he says,-"As for us, we are born in a state of warfare with poverty and distress. The sea of adversity is our natural element, and he that will not buffet with the billows deserves to sink. But you, oh you, by nature formed of gentler kind, can you endure the biting storm? shall you be turned to the nipping blast, and not a door be open to give you shelter?"

After describing, with evident seriousness, the nature of the institutions of Madame de Maintenon, at St. Cyr, he adds the following strange romantic allusion: "Had such charity as I have been speaking of existed here, the mild Parthenia and my poor Laura would not bave fallen into untimely graves.'

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The practical details of his plan, in which it is equally evident that he means to be serious, exhibit the same flightiness of language and notions. The King, he supposes, would have no objection to grant Hampton-Court, or some other palace, for the purpose; and "as it is (he continues, still addressing the Queen,) to be immediately under Your Majesty's patronage, so should Your Majesty be the first member of it. Let the constitution of it be like that of a university,-Your Majesty, Chancellor; some of the first ladies in the kingdom sub-chancellors; whose care it shall be to provide instructors of real merit. The classes are to be distinguished by age, none by degree. For, as their qualification should be gentility, they are all on a level. The instructors should be women, except for the languages. Latin and Greek should not be learned; the frown of pedantry destroys the blush of humility. The practical part of the sciences, as of astronomy, etc. should be taught. In history they would find that there are other passions in man than love. As for novels, there are some I would strongly recommend; but romances infinitely more. The one is a representation of the effects of the passions as they should be, though extravagant; the other, as

they are. The latter is falsely called nature, and is a picture of depraved and corrupted society; the other is the glow of nature. I would therefore exclude all novels that show human nature depraved : -however well executed, the design will disgust."

He concludes by enumerating the various good effects, which the examples of female virtue, sent forth from such an institution, would produce upon the manners and morals of the other sex, and in describing, among other kinds of coxcombs, the cold, courtly man of the world, uses the following strong figure : They are so clipped, and rubbed, and polished, that God's image and inscription is worn from them, and when He calls in his coin, He will no longer know them for his own."

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There is still another Essay, or rather a small fragment of an Essay, on the Letters of Lord Chesterfield, which, I am inclined to think, may have formed a part of the rough copy of the book announced by him to Mr. Linley as ready in the November of this year. Lord Chesterfield's Letters appeared for the first time in 1774, and the sensation they produced was exactly such as would tempt a writer in quest of popular subjects to avail himself of it. As the few pages which I have found, and which contain merely scattered hints of thoughts, are numbered as high as 232, it is possible that the preceding part of the work may have been sufficiently complete to go into the printer's hands, and that there,-like so many more of his "unshelled brood,' -it died without ever taking wing. A few of the memorandums will, I have no doubt, be acceptable to the reader.

"Lord C.'s whole system in no one article calculated to make a great man.-A noble youth should be ignorant of the things he wishes him to know ;-such a one as he wants would be too soon a man.

"Emulation is a dangerous passion to encourage, in some points, in it is so linked with envy :-if you reproach your son for not young men ; surpassing his school-fellows, he will hate those who are before him.— Emulation not to be encouraged even in virtue. True virtue will, like the Athenian, rejoice in being surpassed; a friendly emulation cannot exist in two minds; one must hate the perfections in which he is eclipsed by the other; thus, from hating the quality in his competitor, he loses the respect for it in himself::- a young man by himself better educated than two.-A Roman's emulation was not to excel his countrymen, but to make his country excel: this is the true, the other selfish.-Epaminondas, who reflected on the pleasure his success would give his father, most glorious ;-an emulation for that purpose, true.

"The selfish vanity of the father appears in all these letters-his sending the copy of a letter for his sister.-His object was the praise of his own mode of education.-How much more noble the affection of Morni in Ossian; 'Oh, that the name of Morni,' etc. etc.'

“Oh that the name of Morni were forgot among the people! that the heroes

"His frequent directions for constant employment entirely ill founded : —a wise man is formed more by the action of his own thoughts than by continually feeding it. 'Hurry,' he says, 'from play to study; never be doing nothing'-I say, 'Frequently be unemployed; sit and think.'— There are on every subject but a few leading and fixed ideas; their teacks may be traced by your own genius, as well as by reading :—a man of deep thought, who shall have accustomed himself to support or attack all he has read, will soon find nothing new :-thought is exercise, and the mind like the body must not be wearied."

These last few sentences contain the secret of Sheridan's confidence in his own powers. His subsequent success bore him out in the opinions he thus early expressed, and might even have persuaded him that it was in consequence, not in spite, of his want of cultivation that he succeeded.

On the 17th of January, 1775, the comedy of The Rivals was brought out at Covent-Garden, and the following was the cast of the characters on the first night :—

This comedy, as is well known, failed on its first representation,-chiefly from the bad acting of Mr. Lee in Sir Lucius O'Trigger. Another actor, however, Mr. Clinch, was substituted in his place, and the play being lightened of this and some other incumbrances, rose at once into that high region of public favour, where it has continued to float so buoyantly and gracefully ever since.

The following extracts from letters written at that time by Miss Linley (afterwards Mrs. Tickell) to her sister, Mrs. Sheridan, though containing nothing remarkable, yet, as warm with the feelings of a moment so interesting in Sheridan's literary life, will be read, perhaps, with some degree of pleasure. The slightest outline of a celebrated place, taken on the spot, has often a charm beyond the most elaborate picture finished at a distance.

would only say, 'Behold the father of Gaul!" Sheridan applied this, more than thirty years after, in talking of his own son, on the hustings of Westminster, and said that, in like manner, he would ask no greater distinction than for men to point at him and say, "There goes the father of Tom Sheridan."

"MY DEAREST ELIZA,

Bath.

"We are all in the greatest anxiety about Sheridan's play,-though I do not think there is the least doubt of its succeeding. I was told last night that it was his own story, and therefore called "The Rivals; " but I do not give any credit to this intelligence.*

*

*

*

"I am told he will get at least 700l. for his play."

*

"Bath, January, 1775.

"It is impossible to tell you what pleasure we felt at the receipt, of Sheridan's last letter, which confirmed what we had seen in the newspapers of the success of his play. The knowing ones were very much disappointed, as they had so very bad an opinion of its success. After the first night we were indeed all very fearful that the audience would go very much prejudiced against it. But now, there can be no doubt of its success, as it has certainly got through more difficulties than any comedy which has not met its doom the first night. I know you have been very busy in writing for Sheridan,—I don't mean copying, but composing, - it's true, indeed;--you must not contradict me when I say you wrote the much-admired epilogue to the Rivals. How I long to read it! What makes it more certain is, that my father guessed it was yours the first time he saw it praised in the paper."

This statement respecting the epilogue would, if true, deprive Sheridan of one of the fairest leaves of his poetic crown. It appears, however, to be but a conjecture hazarded at the moment, and proves only the high idea entertained of Mrs. Sheridan's talents by her own family. The cast of the play at Bath, and its success there and else where, are thus mentioned in these letters of Miss Linley :

"Bath, February 18, 1775.

"What shall I say of The Rivals!-a compliment must naturally be expected; but really it goes so far beyond any thing I can say in its praise, that I am afraid my modesty must keep me silent. When you and I meet I shall be better able to explain myself, and tell you how much I am delighted with it. We expect to have it here very soon it is now in rehearsal. You pretty well know the merits of our principal performers: --I'll show you how it is cast.

(A new actor of great merit, and a sweet figure.)

(Literally, a very pretty, romantic girl, of seventeen.)

Julia

Lucy

.

Mrs. Didier.

Mrs. Brett.

"There, Madam, do not you think we shall do your Rivals some justice? I'm convinced it won't be done better any where out of London. I don't think Mrs. Mattocks can do Julia very well."

1

"Bath, March 9, 1775.

"You will know by what you see enclosed in this frank my reason for not answering your letter sooner was, that I waited the success of Sheridan's play in Bath; for, let me tell you, I look upon our theatrical tribunal, though not in quantity, in quality as good as yours, and I do not believe there was a critic in the whole city that was not there. But, in my life, I never saw any thing go off with such uncommon applause. I must first of all inform you that there was a very full house :-the play was performed inimitably well; nor did I hear, for the honor of our Bath actors, one single prompt the whole night; but I suppose the poor creatures never acted with such shouts of applause in their lives, so that they were incited by that to do their best. They lost many of Malaprop's good sayings by the applause in short, I never saw or heard any thing like it :-before the actors spoke, they began their clapping. There was a new scene of the N. Parade, painted by Mr. Davis, and a most delightful one it is, I assure you. Every body says,-Bowes in particular,-that yours in town is not so good. Most of the dresses were entirely new, and very handsome. On the whole, I think Sheridan is vastly obliged to poor dear Keasberry for getting it up so well. We only wanted a good Julia to have made it quite complete. You must know that it was entirely out of Mrs. Didier's style of playing: but I never saw better acting than Keasberry's, so all the critics agreed."

Bath, August 22d, 1775.

“Tell Sheridan his play has been acted at Southampton :-above a hundred people were turned away the first night. They say there never was any thing so universally liked. They have very good success at Bristol, and have played The Rivals several times :-Miss Barsanti, Lydia, and Mrs. Canning, Julia.”

To enter into a regular analysis of this lively play, the best comment on which is to be found in the many smiling faces that are lighted up around wherever it appears, is a task of criticism that will hardly be thought necessary. With much less wit, it exhibits perhaps more humour than The School for Scandal, and the dialogue, though by no means so pointed or sparkling, is, in this respect, more natural, as coming nearer the current coin of ordinary conversation; whereas, the circulating medium of The School for Scandal is diamonds. The characters of The Rivals, on the contrary, are not such as occur very commonly in the world; and, instead of producing striking effects with natural and obvious materials, which is the great art and difficulty of a painter of human life, he has here overcharged most of his persons with whims and absurdities, for which the circumstances they are engaged in afford but a very disproportionate vent. Accordingly, for our insight into their charac