Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-09-07

IN parliam ent for more than half century Borke
whose mature mud was richly furnished from the
intellectual stores OF all ages and ofal nations pt
and FoN left like Sheridan to chance but train
e, and mosided into orators and statesmeu-
These were formidable checks To the rise of au adj
venturcr recommended neither by character n,.r
by connecton-never educated for public ife--be-
set by Thousand mischievous habits--crusted over
with Incidence aud depressed by for;une. Some
wonderous internal power buoyed him up, and
temper n,vulnerable ordinary attacks left him at
all times in possession of his mistaken faculties In
cooperation, therefore, of rivalry hostility with
the FIRST men OF his day he distinguished himself a.
mongst them by welding with success the various
weapons for which they were respectively celcbra-
ted. Ia iow of dicon he yielded not even 10 Mr.
P in force and acuteness he might Justly be com
pared with the great opposition leader; while in
splendor OF Imagination he equaed Burke, and M
It's aud management far excelled him. His sai-
casms finer, but less severe, than those by
which MIR. Pitt INDUCED his anger and the wit dis
played by Sheridan in parliament was, perhaps from
the suavity ofhl temper, much less sharp than
brilliant.
But the quality which predominated over all his
companions in the mind OF Mr.. Sheridan, his
exquisite and highly finished tdsss. In this rare ia
lent he had no competitor and this 1t which
gave such niInilable grace to his expressions, and
Which in arguing or declaming, in euoey or irvec-
tive, disposed his thoughts with effect full and
admirable. We cannot expatiste farther on his
rhetorical qualifications than by observing, that he
joined to the higher attributes above spokea Of the
natural advantages OF clear and neo..ious voice,
di.tinet, emphatic and unaffected utterance and
manly and becoming action. AS Mr.. Sheridan has
produced comedy which may be described rs
nearly the best in our language, so did he bya GU
r,oas felicity OF genius, put Firth, in his speech on
IN trial OF tiastngs, the finest specimen OF English
senatorial eloIuence of which modern times can
boast. OF ths divine Grafton, although noae but
those who heard it can adequately judge, enough
remains to justify praises in the fragments ham
ded down to us by the publications of that period,
and in the recorded sentiments Of the leaders OF all
parties, who hung in rapture and amazemeDt on his
words. Mr.. Sheridan then reached the pinnacle of
his lame No length of days could add to the celeb
rity at that moment poured around him, as an ora
tor and statesman OF comprehensive and transcend
art powers-no human fortune could have surpas-
sea the expectations then formed of his future emf
hence. Why they nave not since been reazed,;s
aqus siion which posterty will not fail to ask We
pass bv the details e his parliamentary progress
from the discussions the regency in $780, those
on the same subject IN ISl1- Many important ques-
toas, many danger'u us crises, which arose IN the
long interval between these periods gave Mr.. She
rdan the means to establish for himself an occasi-
onal interest with the people of England distinct
from any that could have been derived from mere
proofs o talent Influence OF party. Ga the matt
ny at the More, he eno, ed the credit of essential
iy cont butIne TO the state Whenever the lib
erty of the press attacked that bulwark of the
constitution found in him its most jealous aud con-
sistent defender and when the early burst of Span
ish patriotism had raised strong sympathy through
out this country, it was Mr. Sheridan who first
gave form and expression TO the feelings which swell
led every English heart, and who traced in par
lament the natural relation between the support Of
Spain and the d liverance of Europe
Without insiitutiliga too severe or inyidious
tiny into the justice OF those high encOmums which
have been passed on MIR. Sherdan's patriotic sp
Iit, We shall merely observe, that object of our
admiration IS the exquiiite Judgment, the dextcrity
OF tact, with which he At all times seized the full
tide OF public sentiment, and turned il into the pro-
per channel Bat it must be acknowledged, that
the longer he remained in the House of Commons,
and before the public, the more his personal couse-
queace declined. Mr.. Sheridan had never in his
happicst days eff cted any thing by steady Applicant
OIL He was capable of intense, but not of regular
stW'y When public duty private difficulty ur-
gel him, lac endured the burthen as if asleep under
Its pressure. At lePgth, when the pain could be
no longer borne, ne reused himself with one NIGH
" effort, and burst like lion through the tolls
There for believing that his constitute
oral Incidence gan its operation upon his habits at
an early age. His very first dramatic we're
written by sRatches, with considerable intervals be-
tween them. Cornwall pleasures had lively charms
Tor one whose wit was the soul Of the table and
the sparkling glass; the medium of social intetcnnrse
had small share ct his aft, elton. These were
Joysto be induiged without effort; such, they
were o well calculated to absorb the time of MIR.
Sheridan, and sooner or later to make large en-
crnschments on his character. His attendance in
parliament became every year more laBguid the
pis iaertie more incurahie the pIunges by which
his genius had now and thea ricated him in for
mer tunes, less trcqneat ard more feeble. We ne
YER witnessed a co; trast much more melancholy
than between the biiisnt and commanding talent
displayed by Mr.. Sheridan throughout the first Re-
sency discussions, and the low scale Of nerve, actv-
iy and capacity, 10 which he seemed reduced, when
tHat subject was msre recently agitated in Parla-
ment But Incidence and mtemperance must Danish
reflection not corrected by it since could
support the torture of perpetual seIfrcproach. Ag-
gravsted, we fear by some such causes the natural
care!esstemper OF Mr.. Sheridan became ruinous to
All his better hopes and prospects Without d.
rect appetite for spending money, he thought not
Of checking its expenditure. The economy oftine
was as much disregar1ed as that of money. All the
arrangements, punctualties and minor obligations Of
life were iorgotten and the household of Mr.. Shci-
dan always in state of nature. His domestic
feelings we're originally kind, and his manners gen
tie but some bad habits seduced him from the H.
OF Commons and from home and equally injured
him agent of the puhIic goo J. and as q dispen-
ser fprivate happiness. Iii painful, it is mortify-
ing, but it is sacred duty, to parse this history
to the end. Pecuniary embsrrassinents often lead
men to shifts ard expedents-thcst exhau.ted. to
renewed excesses-loss of cast in society, follow
each other i'll melancholy Succession, until solitude
end darkness close the scene.
II has been made a reprosch bv some persons,
in lamentng Mr.. Sberi6an's cruel destiny, that bi,
friends had not done more for him. We freely and
conscieutously declare il AS opinion, thsi had
Mr. Sheridan enjoyed ten Receives shps Of Corn
wall instead OF one, he would not have died in alu-
ence. He never would have attained to comfort or
come rich, because his vanity may thirst for only x
single mole nj qualification An bitioua mo.