ot conclude with the
marriage ceremony. Sheridan seems to have offered his wife as devoted
an attachment after her marriage as he had shown in the days of
duelling and disguising that preceded it. He wrote verses to her, and
she wrote verses to him, long after they had settled down to serene
domesticity, which breathe the most passionate expressions of mutual
love. And yet there is a legend--it is to be hoped and believed that
it is only a legend--which ends the romance very sadly. According to
the legend young Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Sheridan's close friend, felt
more than a friend's admiration for the wife of his friend. According
to the legend Elizabeth Sheridan returned the passion, which by the
unhappiness it brought with it shortened her life. According to the
legend Lord Edward only married the fair Pamela, Philippe Egalite's
daughter, because of the striking resemblance she bore to the St.
Cecilia of his dreams. The legend rests on the authority of Madame de
Genlis, who was probably Pamela's mother and who is no infallible
authority. It is possible that the undoubted resemblance of Pamela to
Mrs. Sheridan is the origin of the whole story. Lord Edward was always
falling in love in a graceful, chivalrous kind of way. But there is no
serious proof that his friendship for Mrs. Sheridan was anything more
than the friendship an honorable man may entertain for the wife of his
friend. The graver and more authentic story of Fitzgerald's life has
yet to be told in these pages.

[Sidenote: 1775--Sheridan as dramatist and politician]

For a brief period after his marriage Sheridan thought of devoting
himself to the law. But his thoughts and {221} tastes were otherwise
inclined, and on January 27, 1775, not quite two years after his
marriage, "The Rivals" was produced at Covent Garden and a new chapter
opened in the history of dramatic literature. It is curious to think
that the clumsiness of the player to whom the part of Sir Lucius
O'Trigger was given came very near to damning the most brilliant comedy
that the English stage had seen for nearly two centuries. The happy
substitution of actor Clinch for actor Lee, however, saved the piece
and made Sheridan the most popular author in London. How grateful
Sheridan felt to Clinch for rescuing Sir Lucius is shown by the fact
that his next production, the farce called "St. Patrick's Day; or, the
Scheming Lieutenant," was expressly written to afford opportunity for