berland, Knight of the Garter, who placed the noble heir of his house, Earl Percy, at their head. He, pursuing the example of his exalted father, stood forward early in the defence of his country; and his followers in arms, joining the other tenants of the noble duke, anxious to record their attachment to the Percy family, have caused this list of the persons composing his lordship's corps, to be laid under the column which the tenants are raising with their own hands, to record for ever his grace's many acts of munificence and generosity." The cause of this deposit being explained to the company, the large centre stone for the building was rolled over it, and the 21 oldest tenants went through the usual ceremony of using the trowel; after which, the stone was riveted down, with strong iron bolts, run in with lead, to the course below, where every stone was from 3 to 5 tons each, and brought from a quarry two miles off. The clergyman of the parish, now getting on the pile, said "Let us pray,' upon which about 20 masons knelt around him, the people uncovered and were extremely silent and attentive, while the following prayer was read. "O Lord, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among and with thy great might succour us. Bless, we beseech thee, this our undertaking; and cause it to be an everlasting bond of union between landlord and tenant! Stretch forth thy right hand, O God! to preserve our noble benefactor, endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts, restore his health, prosper him with all happiness, and grant him in wealth, long to live! We also humbly implore thy blessing upon her grace the Duchess of Northumberland, the right honourable Earl Percy, and all the branches of that noble family. Defend us, O Lord, from all the accidents and casualties attending our respective callings; so by thy continual help, we may bring this our work to good effect; and because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, or this, our tribute of gratitude, continue in safety, without thy succour, deign, O God! to be our refuge and our strength: be ready, we beseech thee, to hear our devout prayers; and grant that those things, which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually, through us; Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!" After this benediction, the corn, wine, and oil, were poured upon the stone, the company gave three cheers, and 21 guns were fired. MR. SHERIDAN. MR. SHERIDAN died on July 7th, 1816. For two days he had taken no nourishment, when convulsive fits came on, and his speech failed him. His sight was, however, good; and he shewed, by feeble gestures, that he knew those who were near him. At noon precisely he breathed his last, without struggle or effort. We lament to say, that for several weeks prior to his death he lay under arrest, and that it was only by the firmness and humanity of the two eminent physicians who attended him, Dr. Baillie and Dr. Bain, that he was not removed from his house to a death-bed in gaol. Will it be believed that the man who has adorned the age in which he lived with such varieties of light and splendour, should himself have been left to feel the pressure of want! He enjoyed, however, to the last moment, the sweetest consolation that the heart can feel in the affectionate tenderness, sympathy, and attention of his amiable wife and son. Mrs. Sheridan, though herself labouring under severe illness, could not be withdrawn from his couch; she has watched over him with the most anxious solicitude through the whole of that protracted suffering which has parted them for ever. Mr. Sheridan was the third son of Mr. Thomas Sheridan, celebrated as an actor, eminent for his lectures on elocution, and entitled to the gratitude of the public for his judicious and indefatigable exertions to improve the system of our national education. His mother, Mrs. Frances Sheridan, was no less respected for her domestic virtues than admired for her literary attainments. She was the author of Sidney Biddulph, a novel which possesses the merit of combining the purest morality with the most impressive interest. She also wrote Nourjahad, an Oriental Tale, and the Comedies of The Discovery, The Dupe, and A Trip to Bath. Richard Brinsley Sheridan was born in Dorset Street, Dublin, in October, 1751. The following is a literal extract from the register of St. Mary's parish, Dublin: "Charles Francis, son of Thomas and Frances Sheridan, baptized July 21, 1750. Richard Brinsley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan, baptized November 4, 1751." Charles Francis was the author of that excellent work The Revolution in Sweden, and was Secretary of War in Ireland. Mr. Sheridan's eldest son, Thomas, died in childhood. Richard Brinsley, after his departure from Harrow school, was entered as a student in the Middle Temple; but his introduction at the age of twenty to the society of men of acknowledged abilities, taste, and learning, and his early marriage with Miss Linley, in his 24th year, diverted him from the study of the law. At this period he wrote several poetical pieces, equally distinguished for genuine tenderness of sentiment and brilliancy of imagination. In the course of a few weeks, at the end of 1774, he wrote the comedy of The Rivals, which was performed at Covent-Garden theatre on the 17th of January in the following year. At the commencement of 1776, his comic Opera of The Duenna was brought out. The elegance of the diction, the sweetness of the poetry, and the natural and appropriate spirit of the characters, raised it above all competition, and imparted a celebrity that surpassed even that of The Beggar's Opera. Such was the attraction of The Duenna, that it was represented seventy-five nights during the season, while Gay's singular production ran only sixty-five. In 1776, Mr. Sheridan became one of the Patentees of Drury-Lane theatre, and the following year he produced The School for Scandal, a comedy which deservedly raised his fame to undisputed pre-eminence over all contemporary dramatic writers, and conferred in the opinion of foreign literati a lustre on the British drama which it did not previously possess.-After the lapse of so many years, it still stands, and will continue long to stand, in the "valued file" a composition unique in its claims to distinction. In simplicity of plot, in the natural progression of incident, in faithful imitation of manners, in the natural and vivid delineation of the characters, and, above all, in fertility of wit and felicity of expression, it is complete and unrivalled. It was performed on the 8th of May, 1777. The Critic and the Monody to the Memory of Garrick followed at no great distance of time. In 1780, Mr. Sheridan was elected Member for Stafford, and in the course of a few years what Bishop Burnet said of the celebrated Waller could be more justly applied to him; "In Parliament he was the delight of the house."-He was rapidly approaching to perfection as an orator, when the impeachment of Mr. Hastings supplied him with an opportunity of displaying powers which have been rarely equalled. His celebrated speech was delivered in June, 1788, when he summed up the evidence on the charge respecting the imprisonment of the Princesses of Oude and the seizure of their treasures. His mind indeed appears to have expanded with the magnitude and to have been elevated with the dignity of the subject. He conceived its various relations with a comprehensive perspicuity that was embellished by the noblest effusions of eloquence: "Animo vidit ; ingenio complexus est; 66 The address with which he arranged his materials; the art and energy with which he anticipated objections; the ingenuity with which he commented on the evidence, and the natural boldness of his imagery, evince a singular combination of genius and judgment. He blended together the three grand classifications of eloquence. He was clear and unadorned, diffuse and pathetic, animated and vehement. There was nothing superfluous, no affected turn, no glittering point, no false sublimity. Compassion and indignation were alternately excited, and the wonders related of the oratory of Greece and Rome were almost revived. The eloquence of Mr. Sheridan possessed strength without coarseness-liveliness without frivolity-he was bold but dexterous in his attacks-not easily repelled, but when repelled, effecting his retreat in good order. Often severe-much oftener witty, and gay, and graceful-disentangling what was confused-enlivening what was dull-very clear in his arrangementvery comprehensive in his views-flashing upon his hearers with such a burst of brilliancy-when no other speaker was listened to, he could arrest and chain down the Members to their seats-all hanging upon him with the most eager attention-all fixed in wonder and delight; he never tired-he could adapt himself, more than any other man, to all minds and to all capacities, 'from 'grave to gay, from lively to severe.' Every quality of an orator was united in him-the mind-the eye-quick, sparkling, penetrating, matchless almost for brilliancy and expression. REMBRANDT. An extraordinary picture, painted by Rembrandt, has been recently discovered, and the progress of the discovery is curious. The President of the Royal Academy saw this picture by chance, with a great mass of other rubbish and inferior productions, which were preparing for sale by auction. Sir Thomas Lawrence's taste was immediately struck with the merits of this picture, even in its dirty and mutilated condition; he attended the sale, and the hammer was on the point of ratifying Sir Thomas as the purchaser for four guineas, when a lynx-eyed dealer suddenly contended for the prize, and was the eventual purchaser for two hundred guineas. He took home the picture, had it cleaned and newly mounted, and in the first instance offered it for sale to his tasteful competitor, whose property it now is, for seven hundred guineas. The picture is said to be the finest ever painted by Rembrandt, and worth seven thousand pounds. The subject relates to Joseph and Potiphar's wife.-Morning Paper. DOGS. A COUPLE of the dogs, male and female, brought over to England by Captain Parry, have arrived in town. In point of shape and colour, they very much resemble the Pomeranians, a breed of dogs now nearly extinct in this country. They are considerably larger than the Pomeranians, but not so large as the Newfoundland, with the exact head of the fox, an immense bone in the fore legs, and great strength in the loins, two essential qualities for the purposes of draught, to which |