shortly afterwards, to produce a tragedy, written by Boaden, replied,
'The wise and discreet author calls our house a wilderness:--now, I
don't mind allowing the oracle to have his opinion; but it is really
too much for him to expect, that I will suffer him to prove his
words.'

"Kelly having to perform an Irish character, Johnstone took great
pains to instruct him in the brogue, but with so little success, that
Sheridan said, on entering the green-room, at the conclusion of the
piece, 'Bravo, Kelly! I never heard you speak such good English in all
my life!'

"He delighted in practical jokes, and seems to have enjoyed a sheer
piece of mischief, with all the gusto of a school-boy. At this kind of
sport, Tickell and Sheridan were often play-fellows: and the tricks
which they inflicted on each other, were frequently attended with
rather unpleasant consequences. One night, he induced Tickell to
follow him down a dark passage, on the floor of which he had placed
all the plates and dishes he could muster, in such a manner, that
while a clear path was left open for his own escape, it would have
been a miracle if Tickell did not smash two-thirds of them. The result
was as Sheridan had anticipated: Tickell fell among the crockery,
which so severely cut him in many places, that Lord John Townshend
found him, the next day, in bed, and covered with patches. 'Sheridan
has behaved atrociously towards me,' said he, 'and I am resolved to be
revenged on him. But,' added he, his admiration at the trick entirely
subduing his indignation, 'how amazingly well it was managed!'

"He once took advantage of the singular appetite of Richardson for
argument, to evade payment of a heavy coach-fare. Sheridan had