forms the magnetism of society,--the power to attract, and the
disposition to be attracted,--their life, as may easily be supposed, was
one of gaiety both at home and abroad. Though little able to cope with
the entertainments of their wealthy acquaintance, her music and the good
company which his talents drew around him, were an ample repayment for
the more solid hospitalities which they received. Among the families
visited by them was that of Mr. Coote (Purden), at whose musical parties
Mrs. Sheridan frequently sung, accompanied occasionally by the two
little daughters [Footnote: The charm of her singing, as well as her
fondness for children, are interestingly described in a letter to my
friend Mr. Rogers, from one of the most tasteful writers of the present
day:--"Hers was truly 'a voice as of the cherub choir,' and she was
always ready to sing without any pressing. She sung here a great deal,
and to my infinite delight; but what had a particular charm was, that
she used to take my daughter, then a child, on her lap, and sing a
number of childish songs with such a playfulness of manner, and such a
sweetness of look and voice, as was quite enchanting."] of Mr. Coote,
who were the originals of the children introduced into Sir Joshua
Reynolds's portrait of Mrs. Sheridan as St. Cecilia. It was here that
the Duchess of Devonshire first met Sheridan; and, as I have been told,
long hesitated as to the propriety of inviting to her house two persons
of such equivocal rank in society, as he and his wife were at that time
considered. Her Grace was reminded of these scruples some years after,
when "the player's son" had become the admiration of the proudest and
fairest; and when a house, provided for the Duchess herself at Bath, was
left two months unoccupied, in consequence of the social attractions of
Sheridan, which prevented a party then assembled at Chatsworth from
separating. These are triumphs which, for the sake of all humbly born
heirs of genius, deserve to be commemorated.