‘Jockey of Norfolk, be not so bold—.’

Lord Rolie, the butt of the Opposition, who had attacked him in the famous satire, ‘The Rolliad,’ so popular that it went through twenty-two editions in twenty-seven years, accused Sheridan of inflammatory speeches among the operatives of the northern counties on the cotton question.  Sheridan retorted by saying that he believed Lord Rolle must refer to ‘Compositions less prosaic, but more popular’ (meaning the ’Rolliad’), and thus successfully turned the laugh against him.

It was Grattan, I think, who said, ’When I can’t talk sense, I talk metaphor.’  Sheridan often talked metaphor, though he sometimes mingled it with sense.  His famous speech about the Begums of Oude is full of it, but we have one or two instances before that.  Thus on the Duke of Richmond’s report about fortifications, he said, turning to the duke, that ’holding in his hand the report made by the Board of Officers, he complimented the noble president on his talents as an engineer, which were strongly evinced in planning and constructing that very paper....  He has made it a contest of posts, and conducted his reasoning not less on principles of trigonometry than of logic.  There are certain assumptions thrown up, like advanced works, to keep the enemy at a distance from the principal object of debate; strong provisos protect and cover the flanks of his assertions, his very queries are his casemates,’ and so on.

When Lord Mulgrave said, on another occasion, that any man using his influence to obtain a vote for the crown ought to lose his head, Sheridan quietly remarked, that he was glad his lordship had said ‘ought to lose his head,’ not would have lost it, for in that case the learned gentleman would not have had that evening ’face to have shown among us.’

Such are a few of his well-remembered replies in the House; but his fame as an orator rested on the splendid speeches which he made at the impeachment of Warren Hastings.  The first of these was made in the House on the 7th of February, 1787.  The whole story of the corruption, extortions, and cruelty of the worst of many bad rulers who have been imposed upon that unhappy nation of Hindostan, and who ignorant how to parcere subjectis, have gone on in their unjust oppression, only rendering it the more dangerous by weak concessions, is too well known to need a recapitulation here.  The worst feature in the whole of Hastings’ misconduct was, perhaps, his treatment of those unfortunate ladies whose money he coveted, the Begums of Oude.  The Opposition was determined to make the governor-general’s conduct a state question, but their charges had been received with little attention, till on this day Sheridan rose to denounce the cruel extortioner.  He spoke for five hours and a half, and surpassed all he had ever said in eloquence.  The subject was one to find sympathy in the hearts of Englishmen, who, though