The Prince Of Wales
George the Fourth, when Prince of Wales, frequently had as guests at his
table Sheridan, Grattan, Curran, Flood, and Father O'Leary. Croly, in
his Life of George the Fourth, says--An occasional guest, and a
sufficiently singular one, was an Irish Franciscan, Arthur O'Leary, a
man of strong faculties and considerable knowledge. His first celebrity
was as a pamphleteer, in a long battle with Woodward, the able Bishop of
loyne, in Ireland.--O'Leary abounded in Irish anecdote, and was a
master of pleasant humor.
Sheridan said that he considered claret the true parliamentary wine for
the peerage, for it might make a man sleepy or sick, but it never warmed
his heart, or stirred up his brains. Port, generous port, was for the
Commons--it was for the business of life--it quickened the circulation
and fancy together. For his part, he never felt that he spoke as he
liked, until after a couple of bottles. O'Leary observed, that this was
like a porter; he never could go steady without a load on his
head.