persevere. But in a short time, their exertions began to relax; and when no longer allured by the premiums of their beneficent landlord, they desisted from the attempt. It It may be doubted indeed, whether this portion of Wales may be calculated to produce the rich cheeses of Cheshire and Gloucestershire, together with that fine species produced from the Leicestershire dairies, which still passes under the name of Stilton. Perhaps an imitation of those reared in the Grison country, and the hills of Switzerland, would be better adapted for the county of Cardigan but this is a mere speculation which time, skill, and opportunity can alone prove to be well or ill founded.

An illness, which at one period appeared to be fatal, at length intervened, and Mr. Johnes took refuge in Devonshire, from the keen and bleak air of his native mountains. He did not long survive his removal; but even then, as if desirous to prove the ruling passion strong in death," he proposed to himself to achieve another creation, at Langstone Cliff near Exeter, of a different kind indeed from that at Hafod; but the novelty of the sea, of the fine verdure, of the scenery, and above all, of the balmy air, made him delight in a small but elegant cottage which he began, in his own words, to consider as "the cradle of his old age."

A List of the Works of the late THOMAS JOHNES, Esq.

1. A Cardiganshire Landlord's Advice to his Tenants. 2. Memoirs of the Life of Sir John Froissart, from the French of M. de St. Palaye, 4to.

N. B. Volume I. was published in 1803. Volume II. in 1804, and Volumes III. and IV. in 1805. Another

edition in 8vo. appeared in 1810..

3. The Chronicles of England, France, Spain, &c. translated from the French of Sir John Froissart, 4 vols. 4to.

A third edition in 10 vols. 8vo. appeared in 1806.

4. Translation of De Joinville's Memoirs of St. Louis, from the French, 2 vols. 4to, 1807. Printed at the Hafod press.

5. Travels of Bertrandon de la Brocquiere in Palestine, 8vo, 1807. Printed at the Hafod press.

6. The Chronicles of Monstrelet, with Notes by the Translator, 4 vols. 4to, 1809. An octavo edition appeared afterwards.

PART III.

ANALYSIS

OF

RECENT BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS.

No. I.

MEMOIRS OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN,

WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF HIS FAMILY AND CON

NEXIONS. BY JOHN WATKINS, LL. D. 1 vol. 4to. Colbourn. 1817.

THIS life seems to be indebted for its origin to the suggestion of the late Mr. Samuel Whyte of Dublin, who was not only related to the female branch of the Sheridan family; but, if we are not greatly mistaken, formerly wrote a memoir on this very subject himself. The name of Sheridan, we are told, is of such ancient standing in the sister-kingdom, as to denote an aboriginal stock. The family, too, appears to exhibit such a remarkable succession of hereditary talent and imprudence, of genius and extravagance, as to be well calculated to illustrate the position of Montaigne, who insists on the transmission from father to son, not only of corporeal resemblances, but those of the mind also. In order to prove this position by example, we are referred to the progenitor of the subject of this work: "Mr. Thomas Sheridan, a country gentleman,

possessed of a small estate at Uaghteragh, in the county of Cavan. He was a protestant," we are told, "and a man of very generous sentiments; well beloved in his neighbourhood for his hospitable disposition, and particularly esteemed by the gentry around, on account of his spirit as a sportsman, and his superior skill in the management of horses and dogs. That knowledge and liberality, however, which raised him in the estimation of his neighbours, only served to impoverish his circumstances, and to embarrass him in difficulties. These were at last so great, that though he contrived to give his only son Thomas an excellent education at the school of Cavan, he found himself incapable of supporting him at the university. One thing, indeed, the father did, which marked more discretion than usually characterized his conduct, and that was the resolution he took of getting rid of his pack of hounds, upon observing that Thomas neglected the school for the dog

kennel."

Such was the great-grandfather of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. As to his grandfather, we find, that at the age of sixteen, through the recommendation of his relation, Dr. William Sheridan, "the deprived bishop of Kilmore," and some friends. of the family, he was entered a scholar at Trinity College, Dublin. "Here he pursued his studies," we are told, "with great credit, and procured the good opinion of his superiors by his readiness to oblige, and the friendship of his companions by his pleasantry. Having taken his degrees, and entered into orders, he succeeded to a fellowship, but soon lost the benefit of it by marrying before he had obtained such a provision in the church, as was necessary for the support of a family. His wife was Elizabeth Macfadden, the only child of an Irish gentleman of the province of Ulster. She was a woman rather plain in her person; and if the picture drawn of her by Swift be not altogether a caricature, her mind and manners were far from making an atonement for the want of external beauty.

"Having thus made a serious change in his condition, and that without any present advantage, Mr. Sheridan, by the ad

vice of his friends, opened a classical seminary in Capel street, Dublin. The house which he took for a school, was called King James's Mint, because, while that unfortunate monarch resided in Ireland, his necessities obliged him to adopt a coinage there, of base metal, for the payment of his troops. Such was the reputation of Mr. Sheridan as a scholar, and so well was he respected for his good nature and entertaining qualities, that his school quickly acquired distinction, and the number of his pupils increased from all parts of the kingdom. What served to enhance his importance, and multiply his gains, if he could have properly improved that connexion, was the friendship which he formed, early in 1715, with Dr. Swift."

But it was impossible even for the Dean, to assist such a man as this. He actually dissipated the sum of 1000l. per annum, arising from his pupils, on the pleasures of the table, and in the company of worthless flatterers. He next refused the endowed grammar-school of Armagh, worth 400l. per annum, to which he might have carried the students, who were greatly attached to him, because he could not banish himself from the temptations of the capital; his name was struck out of the list of royal chaplains, in consequence of some little ridiculous omission on his part; he next exchanged a living he had obtained near Cork, for one of half the value in a more distant spot; he then mortgaged his lands, without lessening his expenses, and we find him at last residing at Cavan, on an abridged income of eighty pounds a-year!

The next generation does not appear to have acquired additional, prudence. Thomas Sheridan, M. A., the third son of Dr. Sheridan, was educated, first at Westminster school, and then at the university of Dublin. During his residence at the latter, he conceived "the romantic idea, that oratory, or rather elocution, constituted the first of human accomplishments." Accordingly, having endeavoured to accomplish himself for that purpose, on the 29th of January, 1742-3, he appeared in the character of Richard III., at Smock Ally theatre. This rash step gave a colour to all the future trans