520. SHERIDAN. him with his demand till he dined with him: Mr. Sheridan accordingly called at Mr. Faulkner's; and after dinner Mr. Faulkner put a sealed paper into his hand, which he told him contained his demand, at the same time request ing Mr. Sheridan to examine it at his leisure at home: when he came home, he found, under seal, a bond of his for 200l. due to Mr. Faulkner, cancelled, together with a receipt in full of a book debt to the extent of 100l. This was a man whom Mr. Foote held up to ridicule ! His next public appearance was in 1769, when he exhibited at the Haymarket an entertainment of reading, singing, and music, which he called “An Attic Evening Entertainment;” and in the summer of the same year he resumed his profession of an actor, by performing at the Haymarket the characters of Hamlet, Richard III. Brutus, and Othello. In 1770, he was engaged again at the same theatre; and in 1776, he acted several nights at Covent garden. After this he never performed again as an actor. The retirement of Mr. Garrick from the stage, in the year 1776, opened a new scene to Mr. Sheridan. The pur chasers of the share in Drury-lane theatre, of which Mr. Richard-Brinsley Sheridan was one, agreed to invest Mr. Sheridan with the powers of a manager, for which office his experience, his abilities, and integrity, well qualified him. He entered upon the office with a determination to reform some abuses which had crept i n , and particularly such a s had arisen from the caprice o f several favourite actresses. I n this pursuit, however, h e found himself counteracted; when, disdaining t o continue i n his post on such ignominious terms, h e relinquished his situation, after holding i t about three years. The theatres being shut against him a s a performer, h e now returned t o his literary avocations. He also read a t Hickford's rooms, a t Coachmakers' Hall, and i n the spring o f 1785, a t Freemasons' Hall, i n conjunction with Mr. Henderson. This was his last public exhibition. The next year h e visited Ireland, and during his residence there h e found his health decline, and i n hopes o f re-esta
