And let me tell you what I know will give you as much pleasure as it gave me,—­that, by all I Could observe in the course of the evening, and we stayed very late, they are extreely happy in each other:  he evidently adores her, and she as evidently idolises him.  The world has by no means done him justice.

When he had paid his compliments to all his acquaintance, he went behind the sofa on which Mrs. Sheridan and Miss OFFy Cholmondeley were seated, and entered into earnest conversation with them.

Upon Lord Harcourt’s again paying Mrs. Cholmondeley some compliment. she said,

“Well, my lord, after this I shall be quite sublime for some days!  I shan’t descend into common life till—­till Saturday.  And then I shall drop into the vulgar style—­I shall be in the ma foi Way.”

I do really believe she could not resist this, for she had seemed determined to be quiet.

When next there was a rat-tat, Mrs. Cholmondeley and Lord Harcourt, and my father again, at the command of the former, moved into the middle of the room, and then Sir Joshua Reynolds and Dr. Warton(89) entered.

No further company came.  You may imagine there was a

(89) Joseph Warton, author of the “Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope."-Ed. 124

general roar at the breaking of the circle, and when they got into order, Mr. Sheridan seated himself in the place Mrs. Cholmondeley had left, between my father and myself.

And now I must tell you a little conversation which I did not hear myself till I came home; it was between Mr. Sheridan and my father.

“Dr. Burney,” cried the former, “have you no older daughters?  Can this possibly be the authoress of ’Evelina’?”

And then he said abundance of fine things, and begged my father to introduce him to me.

“Why, it will be a very formidable thing to her,” answered he, “to be introduced to you.”

“Well then, by and by,” returned he.

Some time after this, my eyes happening to meet his, he waived the ceremony of introduction, and in a low voice said,

“I have been telling Dr. Burney that I have long expected to see in Miss Burney a lady of the gravest appearance, with the quickest parts.”

I was never much more astonished than at this unexpected address, as among all my numerous puffers the name of Sheridan has never reached me, and I did really imagine he had never deigned to look at my trash.

Of course I could make no verbal answer, and he proceeded then to speak of “Evelina” in terms of the highest praise but I was in such a ferment from surprise (not to say pleasure that I have no recollection of his expressions.  I only remember telling him that I was much amazed he had spared time to read it, and that he repeatedly called it a most surprising book; and sometime after he added, “But I hope, Miss Burney, you don’t intend to throw away your pen?”