r Maid of Bath " ; her father's power of brotection he did not consider adequate.
His brother Charles and Halhe , however,
Were rivals of whom he easily disposed ; but Mathews was a more ardent, more pertina- cious wooer. Sheridan watched the progress of events in anguish ; his Irish imagination played havoc with him. In his eyes, Mathew's infatuation became exaggerated, and, in order to fathom the depths of the man's designs, he had recourse to all manner of subterfuges. Ehzabeth also became infected with Richard's anxiety. She sav/ no means of escape from her persecutors. She grew desperate, and when at length one day she discovered a small phial of laudanum in Miss Sheridan's bedroom, she decided to put an end to her troubles and to drink the poisonous contents. But, fortunately, the quantity of fluid was so small that no serious harm was done. However, now it became quite clear to Sheridan that the time for drastic measures had arrived. With his sister's connivance, he suggested and arranged an elopement. To this Elizabeth consented, and, by repre- senting her as a wealthy heiress, Sheridan was able to raise enough money to carry the plan into effect. The lovers accordingly set out for London ; thence they proceeded to Calais, where, in order that later they might be able to throw dust in the face of scandal, an informal marriage was celebrated. This, however, they kept a secret, and after the cere- mony Mrs. Sheridan went to Lisle and entered a convent. Here her father found her. On their return to England, since the matter of the marriage still was kept a secret, Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan were forced to live apart. There are on record, however, some letters which Elizabeth wrote to her husband at this time, and, although by some authorities doubts have been ex- pressed as to their authenticity, the letters are so delightful that at least an extract must be quoted here. " Twelve o'clock ! " she writes. " You unconscionable creature to make me sit up this time of the night to scribble nonsense to you, when you will not let me hear one word from you for this week to come ! Oh, my dear, you are the very tyrant indeed ! You do not fancy I would do this if it was not equally agreeable to myself. Indeed, my dearest love, I am never happy except when I am with you, or writing to you. . . . My mother and me called on Miss Roscoe this evening, when we talked a great deal about you. Miss R. said she was sure you and I would make a match of it. Nay, she said the whole world was of the opinion that we should be married in less than a mcnth. Only think of this, bright Heaven's ! God bless you, my dear, dear love ! " " When you will not let me hear one word of you for this week to come ! " Poor 669 LOVB Sheridan! At this time he was fully occupied with other and very serious matters. Shortly after his return from France, a most defamatory libel on- his character was mserted by Mathews in "The Bath Chronicle." This resulted in two duels— the first in a London tavern, after which Mathews apolo- gised ; and the second near Bath, in which Sheridan was wounded. It was on the occasion of this latter that Mrs. Sheridan all but betrayed her secret, for as soon as she heard of the mishap she hastened to Sheridan's bedside, exclaiming, " xMy husband ! my husband ! " Even this confession, however, does not appear to have aroused her friends' suspicions. They attributed it merely to anxiety and excite- ment. Next, Sheridan persuaded a friend to insert a repetition of the libels in "The Morning Advertiser," in order that he might publicly refute them. But. with dehghtful indolence, he forgot to contradict them. In the meanwhile, however. Sheridan's father refused to consider the question oi a marriage ; he even forbade his son to sec or communicate with " Miss Linley." This was a further and great source of trouble to Sheridan, for his wife was now appearing at Covent Garden, and her host of admirers was increasing rapidly in number. Thus jealousy was added to Sheridan's other troubles, and letters such as those which are accredited to his wife at this time could not have helped to allay his fears. " . . . There are insurmountable diffi- culties to prevent our ever being united, even supposing I could be induced a'gain to believe you. I did not think to have told you of a great one, but I must, or you will, not be convinced that I am in earnest. . . . My father, before we left Bath, received proposals for me from a gentleman in London which he insisted on my accepting. , . . He is not a young man, but, I believe, a worthy one. When I found my father so resolute I re- solved to acquaint the gentleman with every circumstance of my life. I did, and. instead of inducing him to give me up, he is now more earnest than ever." What ? Did his wife intend to ignore the marriage vows which she took at Calais ? Sheridan's mind was in a turmoil of doubts and jealousy. How could he see her, how could he talk to her, how could he discover the truth ? He entered into all manner of conspiracies, and on several occasions dis- guised himself as a hackney coachman, and drove her to and from the theatre in ordei that he might exchange a few words with her. And so the comedy continued. It reads like a fairy story, and as such, indeed, it ends, for at length Mr. Linley 's heart melted. A confession was made, and the lovers were formally married on April 13th, 1773. That marriage proved itself to be a splendid triumph, for in its wake not only came success, but happiness ; and this
