 Sir Boyle Roche , 1st Baronet ( October 1736 – 5 June 1807 ) was an Irish politician . After a distinguished career in North America with the British Army , Roche became a member of the Irish House of Commons in 1775 , generally acting in support of the viceregal government . He is better remembered for the language of his speeches than his politics — they were riddled with mixed metaphors ( " Mr Speaker , I smell a rat ; I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky ; but I 'll nip him in the bud " ) , malapropisms and other unfortunate turns of phrase ( " Why we should put ourselves out of our way to do anything for posterity , for what has posterity ever done for us ? " ) . Roche may have been Richard Brinsley Sheridan 's model for Mrs <unk> . While arguing for a bill , Roche once said , " It would surely be better , Mr. Speaker , to give up not only a part , but , if necessary , even the whole , of our constitution , to preserve the remainder ! " 
