THE European Magazine, AND LONDON REVIEW; CONTAINING THE LITERATURE, HISTORY, POLITICS, ARTS, MANNERS, and AMUSEMEN IS, of the AGE. By the PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY of LONDON. For FEBRUARY, 1782. Embellished with the following elegant Engravings: I. A ftriking and correct Portrait of RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, Esq. Member of Parliament for Stafford. 2. Le fameux Tombeau de MADAME LANGHANS. And, 3. Eight Pages of engraved Music. Printed for JOHN FIELDING, N° 23, PATER-NOSTER-ROW; J. DEBRETT, oppolite BURLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCADILLY; and J. SEWELL, CORNHILL; and fold by all the Bookfellers in Europe. 15 L'Allegro e il Penferofo. Venice Preferved and Ditto. Measure for Measure and Ditto. No Play. Ditto and Tom Thumb. Ditto and The Jovial Crew. Which is the Man and Devil to Pay. No Entertainment. 16 The Lord of the Manor and The Which is the Man and Tom Thumb. Citizen. 18 The Fair Circaffian and Robinfon Ditto and Midas. Crufoe. TO OUR CORRESPONDENTS. If the technical Feu d'Esprit of Philo-Grammaticus had been original, it would have appeared.- The Cenfurer has the fairefi claim to our attention, and we shall be happy to have his farther affiftance. The verfes to the Memory of Victimed Innocence are more pious than poetical.-For the benefit of our comical Correspondents of Lynn, in Norfolk, we have inferted, in this Number, A Printer's PI: We entreat them to employ their bours of levity in deciphering that literary curiofity, before they favour us with any more of their nonfenfe. Several pieces of fugitive Poetry have been received, which we cannot venture to lay before the public. D. T. is not in this class.- To convince the Somerfetfhire Croaker that bis fufpicions are ill-founded, we shall send him a bundle of the papers alluded to by the poft; and, fhould be have twenty or thirty fhillings for poflage to pay, be muft afcribe it to his own bafty cenfures only.-The Royal Stag-huntClio's Epifile-The Peerless Peer-The Hiftory of a Numskull-The Mantua-MakerThe Brewer's Horfe, &c. are under confideration.-D. P.'s verfes are too unfinished for publication-The Man of the Town, No. 2.-The Triumph of Beauty in continuation-Marcus, and feveral other contributions defigned for this month, must be unavoidably poftponed to the next Number.-X. X.'s idea of LITTLE FULLER relations and MORE PREFERABLE plans does not come to us with the recommendation cither of orthography or grammar. R.B.SHERIDAN, Esq".M.P. Published March 1782 by J.Fielding Pater noster Row, J.Sewell, Cornhill, & JDebrett Piccadilly. THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE, AND LONDON REVIEW; For FEBRUARY, 1782. Account of RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, Efq. Member of Parliament for the Borough of Stafford; with an elegant Portrait. R ICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN is of a family, which, during the greater part of the prefent century, has been eminent for genius and learning. The fame which it has acquired has been built on the moft fecure foundation, and promises to receive ftill farther increase from the branches of it now in being. He is the fon of Thomas Sheridan, Efq. late manager of the theatre in Dublin, by Frances his wife, a lady who was the author of feveral dramatic works; and grandfon to Dr. Thomas Sheridan, the celebrated friend of Dean Swift. Of thefe perfons, who have made themfelves famous for their literary qualifications, we propofe to give fome account hereafter. Mr. Sheridan, the object of our prefent enquiry, was born at Quilea, near Dublin, about the year 1752; and at the age of fix years was brought to England by his father, who at that time was compelled to leave his native country, and placed at Harrow-fchool, where he received his education under the care of Dr. Sumner, a gentleman who was particularly fuccefsful in the arduous and important employment of a schoolmaster. It does not appear that he ever was a member of either of the universities; but, choofing the law for his profeffion, he entered himself of the Middle-Temple, with a view of being called to the bar. In this dry ftudy, where fuccefs is only to be obtained by unremitted application, and in which the brightest geniuses have found themselves fometimes below the common run of mankind, Mr. Sheridan did not long perfift. His attention was foon drawn afide by the irrefiftible charms of beauty and poetry. At the age of eighteen years, he joined with a friend in tranflating the Epiftles of Areftenetus from the Greek; and about the fame period printed several works, which are known only to his intimate friends*, and some of them perhaps not even to them. At the critical season of youth, when the paffions are apt to lead their poffeffors into extravagances and confequent difficuities, Mr. Sheridan refided chiefly at Bath, where he became acquainted with the amiable lady who was afterwards united to him by the bands of matrimony. That an attachment to each other should be the refult of this acquaintance, will appear no One of these has suggested, that he wrote an answer to the celebrated Heroic Epiftle to Sir William Chambers. We give this hearfay without being able either to confirm or deny the report. It may however be obferved, that he had not at this juncture devoted himself to the measures of oppofition, or connected himself with those who are at prefent adverse to government. |