184 
20 Jany 1895. First it is not in the Gentleman’s Magazine as. 
noted and then there is no Atheneum for the 20 Jany 1895. In 
the latest Sheridan biography too the date of this letter in one 
place is given as 2 May 1771 and in another as 1770. The 
thing appeared in the Gentleman’s Magazine for Oct 1825, was 
reviewed in the Quarterly in March 1826, condemned as a 
“foolish forgery” in Macmillan’s Jfagazine for January 1861, 
and further noticed in the Atheneum of 26th January 1895. It 
is not noticed by Moore because it was fabricated after his 
work was published. 
Besides other untruths Mrs. Lefanu’s narrative has another 
fallacy when Mathews for the first and only time is dubbed a 
major. This helps again to confusion, for this utterly false 
statement has been copied into the “Dict. Nat. Biog.” and 
incorporated in prominent letters in the head lines of the new 
biography. A new learner now will be puzzled to know and 
will have to find out whether he is reading of the father, who 
was a major, and who the other major was, and then to find the 
captain. After the duels, hunting for some notice of Mathews 
and his antecedents the only note met with tells that—Captain 
Mathews son of the late Major Mathews has made his escape 
to France.* Small as this is it helps to show that he was the 
son of the major and that he was sometimes called Captain. 
He has become major solely by effluxion of time, another 
recollection of Mrs. Lefanu, fifty five years after the events. 
Moore having the Lefanu story before him, and writing 
generally not without some bias, in conclusion is obliged to record 
of Mathews and the young lady,—‘“all that could be said was 
that he presumed in public too much on the intimacy and 
innocent familiarity which her youth and his status permitted.” 
Just so. The latest biography after using at every chance the 
most opprobrious words and names against Mathews, is obliged 
* General Evening ost, 4 July, 1772. 
