The sun., 1910-01-30

dan called the bottle a vie habit never
TO be excused; nevertheless, he could
not free himself from IL. IL endured a
long time among the eminent In England.
Notwithstanding that DR.. johnson took
tea. IL was Theodore Hook to whom a
\ pious lady offered tract entitled "Three
Words to Drunkard" and who. regarding
It. said. perhaps absent mindedly, oh.
yes. Of course. know. Pass the bottle.
Fox was a redoubtable drinker He
could fIl himself and theh read Homer.
Pitt once. driving home with a friend.
settled score for seven bottles at an inn
on the Old Kent Road. Erskine never
pleaded a cauSs without a flask Of madeira
In his pocket. -Dundas and Thurlow
drank port Fox. champagne and bur
gundy; Sheridan. first claret. then port,
latterly rack punch. hot negus. brandy,
and eventually port again: Wilkes alone
drank hook tas Boswell did later. and
Burke. who began with a modicum Of
! clsret, ended with copious draughts
OF hot water. though in earlier days he had
once assured the Speaker I am not well;
l eat too much. / drink too much, and
sleep very little Pitts last phase was
port and water. and most OF these drank
less as they grew older. but Sheridan.
alas, more. Strong drink. however.
never tempted the good King. whose
madness in 17ss was preceded by indul-
gence in a pear and water Monarch
| 'Georgy Boy too was nearly as great
| tea drinker as DR.. Johnson, and he was
also bitten by the coffee mania. In i77s
he careered about English country houses,
tipping i'm teacups while Ireland burned
in the flames Of crisis. The Prince OF
Wales. on the other hand. drank every
thing till everything palled and his cloyed
palate had to decline Curacao and
| 'cedrato.' His constant excuses brought
on his constant fevers. and on one occa-
sion Sheridan dared his displeasure by
pulling the bottle away from him" Tn
doubtedly Sheridan had a strong sense
Of the evil OF drink. Byron has related
how Sheridan once. driving home from
Walters, stopped the carriage in order
that he might get out and say his prayers
kneeling on the sidewalk in Piccadilly.
This account considers the matters OF
gambling and debt in that time. Few
OF the leaders OF Parliament went unen-
numbered. The grocers grew rich; one
OF them left a fortune OF 100000. 1t was
an age in which mammon was worshipped;
we wonder in what age he has not ire
ceived great respect. The gross political
corruption of the time passes in review.
In his first thirteen years Of power Pitt
made eighty three new peers. The pro-
tits must have been considerable. Sheri-
dan was sarcastic here. In a speech he
said: The throne is in danger! We
will support the throne, but let us share
the smiles Of royalty. The order Of no
bility is In dangerl I will fight for no
bility.' says the viscount. but my zeal
would be greater IL 1 were ma6e an earl
Rouse all the marquis within me- ex-
claims the earl. and the peerage never
turned forth a more undaunted cham
pion OF its cause than l shall prove
Plainly the clevernees OF Sheridan was
not less than has been represented.
It was an age Of insolent pride. Said
old Lady Albemarie onoe to a gen.
tleman who was doubtless beneath her
notice: You have heard that I have
abused you. but II is not true. for I would
not take the trouble OF talking about you:
but IL had said anything Of you IL would
have been that you look like a blackguard
on weekdays and on Sundays like an
apothecary-" This was strong indeed.
The book considers the pride. the wit.
the society Of the time. the statesmen
and tradesmen, the scandal. the color
that went into costumes. The account is
comprehensive; the whole picture is
spread before US.
We are transported to Bath. Of which
there is an especial picture. Sheridan
received -the training Of Bath" We
behold him there glorious at the age OF 10.
We meet Elizabeth Ann Linley-a priv
ilege. We have the lineage OF Sheridan
and the lineage OF elizabeth Ann. It is
all interesting. Sheridan ran OF with
Miss Linley before either Of them was
of age. Capt. Thomas Mathews thought
that he had claim upon the young lady.
though he was a married man. He and
Sheridan fought two duels. The frst
was ridiculous, the second an aston
ishing rough and tumble. The story 10
related in great detail. Il will interest
the reader and awaken his wonder re-
peatedly poem by Sheridan on Amer
lea is included in the first volume. A
verse Of Il runs:
But sing. my muse. In worthIer strains
tn heroic souls who glad the plains
Where Freedom loves to dwell:
Putnam and Washington aud Lee.
Arnold and brave Montgomery
The faithful page shall swell.
We have read better poetry.
The politics Of the time are sharply
reviewed at the beginning of the second
volume. We have Sheridan in Parlia-
ment. He was new Whig.' modern
radical Fox and he in l7sO called for
universal suffrage and annual rarlia-
ments. Sheridan used TO say that In such
matters moderation was a mistake. There
is an interesting passage concerning King
George III. Il must not be assumed,
Mr.. Siehel says, that George was a pig
headed bungler, nor must we forget with
what obstacles he had to contend. He
was not genius or prophet, but he was
a king every inch, with limited ideals
which he strove faithfully to fulfl. His
courage was conspicuous. He disliked
show. and pretence. ." Adable to