10 SEPTEMBER 1898, Page 3

Lord Dufferin delivered a charming address at Bath on Mon.

day, his subject being his great-grandfather Sheridan, whose name is imperishably connected with that city. After illustra- ting Sheridan's pecnlar debt to Bath, where he "found himself" as an author, discovered the materials for his comedies, made Influential friendships, and, above all, met Miss Linley, Lord Dufferin paid eloquent homage to the rectitude and dis- interestedness of his ancestor's political judgment, the kindli- ness of his wit, his Parliamentary assiduity, and the purity of his writings. "Wherever he moved, he moved as a star," and such was the charm of his amiability that they considered him "as a kind of hereditary and traditional friend." On the other hand, he had paid a heavy penalty for his versatility. The real Sheridan had almost disappeared in a haze of anecdote until the indefatigable industry of Mr. Fraser Rae had given no, as far as it went, a fair likeness of the man. The grace and urbanity of Lord Dufferin's speech recalls the happily chosen pseudonym of "Lord Mavourneen," under which he was once drawn to the life in a. well-known Anglo- Indian novel.