resource but to
cut the individual with whom he had hobbed and nobbed, and he was as
ungrateful in his enmities as he was ready with his friendship. Brummell
had taught him to dress, and Sheridan had given him wiser counsels: he
quarrelled with both for trifles, which, if he had had real dignity,
would never have occurred, and if he had had real friendship, would
easily have been overlooked.

Sheridan's breach with the prince was honourable to him. He could not
wholly approve of the conduct of that personage and his ministers, and
he told him openly that his life was at his service, but his character
was the property of the country. The prince replied that Sheridan 'might
impeach his ministers on the morrow--that would not impair their
friendship;' yet turned on his heel, and was never his friend again.
When, again, the 'delicate investigation' came off, he sent for
Sheridan, and asked his aid. The latter replied, 'Your royal highness
honours me, but I will never take part against a woman, whether she be
right or wrong.' His political courage atones somewhat for the want of
moral courage he displayed in pandering to the prince's vices.

Many an anecdote is told of Sheridan and 'Wales'--many, indeed, that
cannot be repeated. Their bets were often of the coarsest nature, won by
Sheridan in the coarsest manner. A great intimacy sprang up between the
two reprobates, and Sheridan became one of the satellites of that
dissolute prince. There are few of the stories of their adventures which
can be told in a work like this, but we may give one or two specimens of
the less disgraceful character:--

The Prince, Lord Surrey, and Sheridan were in the habit of seeking
nightly adventures of any kind that suggested itself to their lively
minds. A low tavern, still in existence, was the rendezvous of the heir
to the crown and his noble and distinguished associates. This was the
'Salutation,' in Tavistock Court, Covent Garden, a night house for
gardeners and countrymen, and for the sharpers who fleeced both, and was
kept by a certain Mother Butler, who favoured in every way the
adventurous designs of her exalted guests. Here wigs, smock-frocks, and
other disguises were in readiness; and here, at call, was to be found a
ready-made magistrate, whose sole occupation was to deliver the young
Haroun and his companions from the dilemmas which their adventures
naturally brought them into, and which were generally more or less
concerned with