"being somewhat of an actor," was invited to live in the house, and beat a part in the representations. The perilous familiarity of rehearsals fainting scenes, &c. followed; and, "having an imagination easily warmed, without one grain of discretion to regulate it," he in due course fell desperately in love. We pass over the details, though there is nothing in them which would not bear to be published. He was miserable for two years, when an accidental dispute with the lady's husband separated him from her, and he never saw her more.
"But," he says, concluding this passage of his life, "if I suffered, as I did most severely by this unfortunate passion, I also reaped some benefit from it. The desire to render myself agreeable to a woman of elegant manners and a mind highly cultivated, induced me to attend to a thousand little things, and to endeavour to povah myself to a certain degree, so that, after the first transport of rage and grief at her loss had subsided, I considered myself on the whole as considerably improved; and as no human passion is proof against time and absence, in a few months I recovered my tranquillity."
A more permanent attachment quickly succeeded. The following is his brief, but characteristic account of his courtship and marriage.
"At length, about the beginning of the year 1785, I became acquainted with my wife. She was the daughter of William Withesnghe, and lived at that time in Grafton-street, in the house of her grandfather, a rich old clergyman of the name of Fanning. I was then a scholar of the house in the University, and every day after commons I used to walk under the windows with one or two of my fellow-students. I soon became passionately fond of her, and she also was struck with me, though certainly my appearance neither then (nor now) was much in my favour. So it was, however, that before we had ever spoken to each other, a mutual affection had commenced between us. She was at this time not sixteen years of age, and as beautiful as an angel. She had a brother some years older than herself. As it was necessary for my admission to the family that I should be first acquainted with him, I soon contrived to be introduced to him; and as he played well on the violin, and as I was myself a musical man, we soon grew intimate, the more so, as it may be well supposed I neglected no fair means to recommend myself to him and the rest of the family with whom I soon grew a favourite. My affairs now advanced prosperously; my wife and I grew more passionately fond of each other, and in a short time I proposed to her to marry me, without asking consent of any one, knowing well it would be in vain to expect it. She accepted the proposal as frankly as it was made, and one beautiful morning in the month of July we ran off together and were married. I carried her out of town to Maynooth for a few days; and when the first eclat of passion had subsided, we were forgiven on all sides, and settled in lodgings near my wife's grandfather. I was now for a very short time as happy as possible, in the possession of a beautiful creature that I adored, and who every hour grew more and more upon my heart. The scheme of a fellowship, which I never relished, was now abandoned; and it was determined that when I had taken my degree of bachelor of arts, I should go to the Temple to study the law, and be called to the Bar. I continued, in consequence, my studies in the University, and obtained my last premium two or three months after I was married. In February 1786 I commenced Bachelor of Arts, and shortly after I resigned my scholarship, and quitted the University. I may observe here that I made some figure as a scholar, and should have been much more successful if I had not been so inveterately idle,—partly owing to my passion fora military life, and partly to the distraction to which my natural disposition and temperament but too much exposed me. As it was, however, I obtained a scholarship, three premiums and three silver medals from the Historical Society, a most admirable institution, of which I had the honour to be auditor, and also to close the session
