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realized, if at all, at such a distance of time as to wear out the patience of ordinary placemen. Sheridan, however, has unquestionably become a portion of the collective wisdom of the empire.

command, and he has the skill to combine them in grand and irresistible effect. To have heard him speak is now a distinction among men. Yet, doubt it not, he delivered many comparatively dull The first thing he has to do on taking speeches. No man is uniformly great. his seat in the House of Commons, is Still, always with a great occasion, Sheto answer a petition against his election, ridan rises to the level of its requireinvolving charges of bribery and cor- ments; by force of genius and incredible ruption. Some of "the lowest and most industry in the acquisition of informa unprincipled voters" had been seduced tion, he invariably equals, and ofteninto raising the accusation. The young times exceeds the expectations of those member successfully defended himself who most intimately knew him, and and his constituency against the ca- who entertained the highest opinion of lumny; and "wished that some ade- his powers. Burke declared his speech quate penalties should be inflicted on in the House of Commons, on the conthose who traduced and stigmatized so duct of Warren Hastings in India, to be respectable a body of men." The peti"the most astonishing burst of elotion, as almost uniformly happens in quence, argument and wit united, of such cases, was instantly withdrawn; which there was any record or tradition." Sheridan was confirmed in his seat. He Fox said of it, that "all he ever heard, was listened to with great interest and all he ever read, when compared with attention by the House, his literary re-it, dwindled into nothing, and vanished putation having prepared for him a like vapour before the sun." And even willing and favourable reception. It Pitt, Sheridan's most uniform and deappears, however, that even those who termined adversary, acknowledged that were disposed to judge favourably of" the speech surpassed all the eloquence his capabilities, confidently concluded that "Nature never intended him for an orator." A certain indistinctness of speech, and considerable agitation and hesitancy of manner, impressed the majority that "his mental powers appeared to be very superior to his physical qualifications." On concluding his speech he went into the gallery where Woodfall was reporting, and with evident anxiety tried to obtain from him an opinion as to the probability of his ultimate success. Woodfall candidly advised him to abide by his previous pursuits, for that now he was certainly out of his element, and had little chance of ever becoming properly adapted to

it.

Sheridan, nevertheless, entertained a contrary belief; "I know that it is in me," said he, " and therefore out it shall come!"

Accordingly, after many efforts, and much diligent study and preparation, it did at length "come out," with rather astonishing effect. He rises into boundless celebrity; becomes the most brilliant and attractive orator in England. He has it in him," and ever as opportunities occur he makes it visible that here is a man of consummate gifts and cultivation. Hearing him, men learn to comprehend the magnificent powers of human speech. All the splendours of a rich composite eloquence are at his

of ancient or modern times, and possessed everything that genius or art could furnish to agitate and control the human mind." The testimony of such judges is of the highest, most unquestionable character, and leaves nothing in the way of further eulogy to be adduced.

Sheridan's parliamentary career, imperfectly delineated in his published speeches, extends over a space of upwards of thirty years, an eventful and exciting period of British history. During the whole of this time, his influence over the public affairs was manifest and considerable, though not, perhaps, so great as some of his admirers seem to fancy. In political insight he was probably inferior to none of the prominent men of the time; he saw into the future quite as far, and knew as intimately as any what the commotions and distractions of the age might signify; many a keen glance did he dart beyond him, many a wise warning vehemently deliver; no one had a more clear or comprehensive understanding of the political doctrines which he espoused, or adhered more consistently to their consequences. Yet with all this, Sheridan had nothing of statesman-like ability. The man was not greater than his time; could in no case have successfully directed the tendencies

ward peacefulness, and all true effort and activity, go finally to wreck.

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of the time. To speak of Sheridan as ranking among great statesmen is absurd. He had no one quality, beyond his gift Meanwhile, wonderful to say, his exof speaking, out of the many by which traordinary talent for raising money is a statesman must be distinguished. He prosperously exercised whenever an is a splendid rhetorician, an accom-emergency arises. Drury Lane Theatre plished parliamentary debater; ser- has to be rebuilt; all that was required viceable and illustrious in that capa- for the purpose was a sum of £150,000, city, but if lifted into statesmanship must have been utterly insignificant. The man that could not direct the finances and concerns of a theatre, had clearly but an indifferent capacity for guiding the affairs and destiny of a nation. Beyond the distinction here assigned him, Sheridan, in truth, has neither qualification nor pretension. An adroit, brilliant, party politician is all he ever was or aimed to be.

which was raised with the utmost facility." Sheridan is at this time at the zenith of his reputation. His popularity, his talents, his exertions in behalf of the public interests, are the theme of general eulogy. Drury Lane Theatre, with much effort, and after "unforeseen difficulties, fresh expenses, and vexatious negotiations," is successfully rebuiltthough destined soon to be disastrously burnt down. All along Sheridan conIt should not be overlooked that, side trives to live like a man possessing a by side with Sheridan's public and poli-large income. It appears he usually tical life, there was all the time going kept up three establishments, and his on some sort of private and domestic style of living was such as became a one; which, if we could realize, would, man mingling in the richer class of sorather than the other, be highly satis-ciety, and enjoying all that luxury can factory. A family is gradually growing give."

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up around him, sprightly and clever And so the years roll on, downwards boys and girls, to whom their father's to 1792. This year Sheridan has to reputation cannot be altogether un- follow to the grave his beautiful and known. Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan at affectionate wife, whom the then Bishop home," were an agreeable and inte- of Norwich was wont to call a "connecting resting chapter, had we the materials link between woman and angel;" and for writing it. We are able to perceive, whom Wilkes declared to be "the fairest however, that Sheridan spends a great flower that ever grew in nature's garden." deal of his time utterly away from home. She died at the age of thirty-eight, of He is invited largely into all kinds of pulmonary disease. A beautiful " COdistinguished and select society; his quette of the first magnitude," but long fascinating manners and polished wit since sobered down into a loving, helpmake his presence everywhere courted ful, and judicious wife. Deep was the and acceptable. He is a diner-out of grief of Sheridan, when they bore her the first lustre. By his brilliant con- away to the " still-dwelling;" sad and versation, his boundless vivacity, and irreparable the loss which he sustained. frank sincerity of disposition, he dazzles From that moment a blight fell upon and delights all manner of high and him- a secret immeasurable sorrow illustrious men and women, and is, in sapped his remaining strength, and gave his turn, dazzled and delighted. His a pallor to his noble countenance which princely liberality of taste leads him to no occasional after gaiety could dispel. furnish expensive entertainments in his "I have seen him," says Kelly, night own house; for which, unhappily, the after night sit and cry like a child, embarrassed treasury of Drury Lane while I sang to him, at his desire, a must yield supplies. As this grows pathetic little song of mine— more and more inadequate, obliging tradesmen cheerfully contribute; for a time, at least, are nowise urgent about their bills. Thus in a mingled element of splendour and of shiftiness, a gay and pleasant life alternates with mean vexations and restraints; continually demanding some new sacrifice of temper or of principle. An utterly incongruousexistence; wherein manly dignity, in.

They bore her to a grassy grave.

I never beheld more poignant grief than Sheridan felt for the loss of his beloved wife." The lightsome careless nature, with its gay heedlessness and humour, falls suddenly asunder, and is dissolved in mournful tears; like a bright April day, descending into night amid showers of transient gloom.

For transient are the pains of every human sorrow, however profound its recollections. Nature reneweth day by day the broken spirits of whomsoever she ordains to live. Sheridan is recalled by his public duties back into

the world, where he speedily mingles as before in the exciting strifes, in the tumult and animosities of the life that is going on. Rest, thou buried one! and thy name shall soon be as though it were forgotten.*

RICHARD WINTER HAMILTON, L.L.D., D.D.

GREAT intellectual and moral powers must ever command homage in this world. Intellectual power alone, when not associated and directed by a moral purpose, cannot fail to charm and influence its admirers. But when a man gifted with rich intellectual endowments, consecrates them to the performance of duty, and the scrupulous fulfilment of the high behests of heaven, we then see human nature in its most attractive aspect; our admiration warms into love, and our love borders on the reverential. Such a man was Dr. Hamilton, whom we are now about to sketch. Unlike the great philosopher of the New World, whose history we shall hereafter trace, Dr. Hamilton was a sectarian. He confined himself to the boundaries of what may be termed evangelical orthodoxy, and dared not launch out into those bold speculations outlined by Emerson. But as a sectarian, and with a faith shaped, squared, and measured, we shall find that he possessed immense attractions, an original mind, and, what is better, a large heart.

RICHARD WINTER HAMILTON was born at Pentonville, London, on the 6th of July, 1794. Of his ancestry it is known only that his grandfather came to London, from Scotland, early in life. This Mr. Hamilton was a member of the Baptist persuasion. He married a Miss Hesketh, one of the company who first joined the Rev. Mr. Wesley, and of whom mention is made by Mr. Wesley in his journal of that time. They had six children, and the Rev. Frederick Hamilton, the father of Richard Hamilton, was one of them. One of Winter Hamilton's uncles, the Rev. Robert Hamilton, D.D., LL.D., F.R.S., died October 8th, 1832, in the eightyfirst year of his age, after he had been

incumbent of the united parishes of St. Olave's, Jewry, and St. Martin's, for thirty-three years. This uncle was kind and generous towards his nephew Winter; and when he died, left him an equal share of his property.

Mrs. Frederick Hamilton, the mother of Winter Hamilton, appears to have been a woman of great beauty, of cultivated intellect, of gentle disposition, and eminently pious. Many of her letters are preserved to this day, and they evince a most loving disposition, and a devoted faith to the orthodox creed.

There can be little doubt, in fact it is quite evident, that she did much to mould the character and direct the footsteps of her son. And that son when he became a man, and had attained an eminent position in the church of which he was a member and advocate, frequently alluded in tender and touching accents to the memory of her to whom he owed so much. Though possessing a strong religious faith, her affection for her children bound her soul closely to the world, when on the borders of eternity. A little before her death she wrote to a dear friend in these words: "When I felt a daily decrease of strength-my cough growing worse, and my breath shorter-I could not but think of what all this must lead to, even to the chamber of the grave. I was enabled to hope and to believe that I was entirely in HIS hands who is the resurrection and the life;' but yet, whenever I for a minute soared upward, I was again drawn down by, as it were, a picture presented to my eye, of my person shrouded in my coffin, and all my dear and very affectionate children weeping around me. Indeed, I think I have never before proved my affection so strong, or my

*The conclusion of this life will appear in our next number.

ward in learning; for many of the greatest ornaments of our race were slow to learn at first. Precocity is no true sign of future greatness. Neither is inaptitude to learn elementary knowledge any guarantee that the future man shall not be eminent for his abilities. We cannot expect children to be philosophers. Rather should we expect them to be buoyant, sportive, and, it may be, inclined to mischief. In Winter's period of childhood there was no lack of that quickness of apprehension which distinguished him through life; nor were there wanting even these indications of that luxuriant imagination which produced such rich flowers and fruits in after years. He had an unbounded flow of animal spirits; and his wit, or as his brothers and sisters always called it, his fun, afforded them perpetual amuse

faith so weak." This beautiful minded
woman died when her son Winter, who
was the cherished child of the family,
was about eleven years old. Though
he enjoyed a greater latitude of in-
dulgence than his brothers and sisters,
fortunately it did not lead to pride in
him, or envy in them. They often
gladly saw him taken to enjoy pleasures
which they would cheerfully have
shared; and they welcomed his re-
turn from such visits, that they might
listen to his graphic descriptions of
the persons and places he had seen
during his absence, without any ad-
mixture of jealousy. While young, he
displayed some of those qualities which
especially characterized him in after
life. When he was only five years of
age, an association of ministers had
met at his father's table, and the servant
who had waited on them told the chil-ment.

dren the next day, that one of these When about nine years of age, he
ministers had described his poverty and
his struggles to support a large family
at forty pounds a year, which was all
his poor village flock could raise. The
children felt it very much, and often
talked over what ought to be done for
the good man. At last Winter thought
of a plan, which he imagined excellent.
It was that they should put together
all they could call their own, and buy a
cheap calf, fully expecting that the little
grassplot at the side of his father's
house would be sufficient to keep it till
in a position to present it to the poor
minister. The elder part of the family
told him this was impracticable; not
only they could not raise money enough,
but that they had no place large enough,
to rear the calf. Winter was not to be
turned so easily from his generous pur-
pose. With the utmost simplicity he
proposed that they should buy a little
pig, which, he said, could run about the
nursery, and sleep under the bed, till
large enough to be a valuable gift.

Though this period of his age was so much marked by a generosity of disposition and sprightliness, he did not make any particular progress in the rudiments of education. He had a wise and patient teacher in his mother; but she frequently wept over him for very weariness, and probably from the greater vexation in consequence of the evident talent which he showed in other respects. We mention this so that kind mothers and fathers may not be discouraged when they consider their children back

was sent to a preparatory school at Hammersmith, near London; after passing about a year there, he was removed to an excellent school conducted by the Rev. J. Petticary, at Newport, Isle of Wight. Here he was superintended by his mother's cousin, the Rev. Robert Winter, who watched over him with constant care. If Winter Hamilton did not in after years become a useful member of society-if not a great and good man, it would have been surprising, as every care and attention was lavished on him by his religious relatives when young. But though breathing such a puritanic atmosphere, his unconquerable love for drollery and mimicry continually manifested itself. He was frequently getting into scrapes of some kind or other on account of his boyish mischief, and though he knew he should not escape punishment, he was never known to deny his faults when questioned, or prevaricate when censured. So completely was his character for truthfulness established in the family, that his parents often said to friends, when he left the room, "There goes a child who, to our knowledge, never told a lie."

From his thirteenth to his sixteenth year, he was at Mill Hill Grammar School, where he made decided progress. The reports of his learning and his conduct were most satisfactory. His religious character was then in the course of formation. Even at that early period he seems to have devoted him

self to God for the work of the ministry. ridian glory; and the late Rev. John He grew up to be a minister almost as a matter of course, as he never expressed any wish for any other vocation. From the time when he used to preach to his brothers and sisters, on a box in the nursery, they all considered it a settled point that Winter was to be a minister. But this showed more solicitude than wisdom on the part of his parents. By dedicating a child, before the natural tendency of his mind developed itself, to the important mission of a minister, was not wise, as he might thereby be made a very mechanical and lifeless preacher, when, perhaps, if left to himself, with careful guidance, he might otherwise become a great man. But in the case before us it proved to be successful, as the bent of Winter Hamilton's disposition, and the aspirations of his heart, were naturally inclined in the direction marked out by paternal wishes. Before he was sixteen years of age, he signed a "Covenant," in which he dedicated himself to "his Father in heaven" and to the services of His church. We extract from the "Covenant" a sentence or two, to indicate the condition of his mind at that time. He says, "This day do I, with the utmost solemnity, surrender myself unto Thee. I renounce all former lusts that have dominion over me; and I consecrate unto thee all that I am, and all that I have-the faculties of my mind, and the members of my body, my worldly possessions, my time, and my influence over others, to be all used entirely for thy glory, and resolutely employed in obedience to thy commands, as long as thou continuest me in life, with an ardent desire and humble resolution, to continue them through all the ages of eternity. Ever holding myself in an attentive posture to observe the first intimation of thy will, and ready to spring forward with zeal and joy to the immediate execution of it."

Very soon after, he was admitted, at the age of sixteen, as a student for the ministry amongst the Independents, at Hoxton College. And it rarely happens that one more qualified by mental capacity and spiritual longings, for a sacred calling, enters on such a course. Among the associates and friends of Mr. Hamilton at Hoxton, was the late Rev. Thomas Spencer, of Liverpool, whose career opened so prosperously, but whose useful and brilliant life was quenched before it had reached its me

Ely, of Leeds, between whom and Dr. Hamilton afterwards existed such a tender, vital and enduring friendship. When Dr. Hamilton entered Hoxton College, he was younger than most of the students, and was distinguished by great vivacity and buoyancy of spirits. As he had great facility in acquiring knowledge, and had enjoyed greater advantage of early education than most of his associates, the studies prescribed in the classes to which he belonged made but a slight demand on his time and efforts, and left him much leisure for indulging his own taste and inclination. Without any intensity of application, it was easy for him to prepare for the ordinary examinations in the lectures delivered, and on the books required to be read. The Rev. Dr. Burder, one of the tutors of the College, appre ciated the talents of the young divine. When speaking of his productions, at this time, the Rev. Doctor says: " They were distinguished by an exuberance and even wildness of fancy which greatly needed discipline and training. The excrescences of his imagination required no ordinary degree of judicious pruning. It became my duty, as one of his tutors, to point out these deviations from good taste with an unsparing freedom. With this unwelcome duty, however, I found no difficulty in uniting ample commendation of budding and unfolding excellences." No doubt Dr. Burder's warning was very judicious, and well it should be, when it attempted to prune the imagination of a young student. There is nothing more delicate and difficult than such a task. And, generally, it is much better for tutors to leave the imagination to take care of itself. Dr. Hamilton, throughout his useful life, was particularly distinguished by a rich imagination; and did he not possess it, there is but little evidence to show that he would have risen above the barren mediocrity of the vast majority of his brethren in the ministry. A vivid imagination is frequently a promise of future eminence; and though for a time it may be wild and luxuriant, as the understanding gets enlightened and the judgment consolidated, that creative faculty, which may be called the handmaid of genius, finds its proper orbit. It is much better for the fledgling to try to fly and fall, than not to make the trial.

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