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Article ANECDOTES OF THE LATE HUGH KELLY. ← Page 4 of 4
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Anecdotes Of The Late Hugh Kelly.
Of the many manosuvres practised in the damnation of this piece , two appeared so truly novel , and at the same time so effective , as to deserve notice . The one Avas a set of laughers , a bod y composed of about a dozen persons planted near the orchestra , AA'ho , upon a signal given by their leader , burst out into a horse-laugh of contempt . The other Avas a set of yawneri in the middle of the pit , AA'ho Avere about
the same number , and under the same discipline . Between these two corps the main enemy was not only much galled , but a riumber of neutrals draAvn in , as it Avas difficult for such to restrain their risible faculties on so ridiculous and whimsical an occasion . " All for the best , " however , was a proverb which our Author felt the benefit of by the timely retractation of his comed . If Ave may
y judge from what could reach our ears the first and second night of its performance , it had little or no dramatic selection or character , and so abounded Avith common-place sentiment , that , in all probability , he would not have been much a gainer had it been left to its own fate ; but , printing it by subscription , he dreAv the humanity of the public to his side—every uninfluenced person saw the injustice of driving an
Author from the Stage , and wantonly robbing him and his family of the fair produce of his " talents . Subscriptions , on this account , became proportionally liberal and extensive , and he cleared no less on the whole , than the sum of ei ght hundred pounds , besides the profits of the sale after the general subscription Avas full . " The fate of " The Word to the Wise" operated as a hint to Kelly on his next dramatic attempt , which Avas a tragedy , called "
Clementina . " He knew , by late experience , that if he introduced it to the Stage under his own name , the same party who so unjustly damned his * ' Word to the Wise , " would have as little scruple on the present occasion ;—he therefore kept it a profound secret , and got it introduced into the Green Room of Covent Garden , as the first production of ayoung American Clergyman , who had not as yet arrived in England .
His patron , Colman , and a few confidential friends , perhaps knew the contrary , but this Avas the general report previous to the representation , and under this report " Clementina" came out on the boards of Govent Garden , in the Spring of 1771 . From a patient hearing of this piece , Ave Avere enabled fully todecide on its merits , Avhich , considering it ( as was then supposed ) the
first effort of a young pen , mig ht have some promise of greater perfection , but by no means had any sublime pretensions to " . purge the passions by terror and compassion . " Mrs . Yates performed the principal character , but though she supported it with her usual talents ; and that the rest of the play was as strongly cast as the house Avould admit , it lingered out its nine ni ghts , and then Avas heard no more .
Kelly , it is said , got two hundred pounds for the copy money of this tragedy previous to the publication , on no other stipulation than that of its running nine nights . HOAV he contrived to do this it is difficult to assert , except that he privately confessed himself to the purchaser as the author ; and that the former risqued such a sum on the credit of " False Delicacy . " . _ . [ To be concluded in our ntxtf \
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anecdotes Of The Late Hugh Kelly.
Of the many manosuvres practised in the damnation of this piece , two appeared so truly novel , and at the same time so effective , as to deserve notice . The one Avas a set of laughers , a bod y composed of about a dozen persons planted near the orchestra , AA'ho , upon a signal given by their leader , burst out into a horse-laugh of contempt . The other Avas a set of yawneri in the middle of the pit , AA'ho Avere about
the same number , and under the same discipline . Between these two corps the main enemy was not only much galled , but a riumber of neutrals draAvn in , as it Avas difficult for such to restrain their risible faculties on so ridiculous and whimsical an occasion . " All for the best , " however , was a proverb which our Author felt the benefit of by the timely retractation of his comed . If Ave may
y judge from what could reach our ears the first and second night of its performance , it had little or no dramatic selection or character , and so abounded Avith common-place sentiment , that , in all probability , he would not have been much a gainer had it been left to its own fate ; but , printing it by subscription , he dreAv the humanity of the public to his side—every uninfluenced person saw the injustice of driving an
Author from the Stage , and wantonly robbing him and his family of the fair produce of his " talents . Subscriptions , on this account , became proportionally liberal and extensive , and he cleared no less on the whole , than the sum of ei ght hundred pounds , besides the profits of the sale after the general subscription Avas full . " The fate of " The Word to the Wise" operated as a hint to Kelly on his next dramatic attempt , which Avas a tragedy , called "
Clementina . " He knew , by late experience , that if he introduced it to the Stage under his own name , the same party who so unjustly damned his * ' Word to the Wise , " would have as little scruple on the present occasion ;—he therefore kept it a profound secret , and got it introduced into the Green Room of Covent Garden , as the first production of ayoung American Clergyman , who had not as yet arrived in England .
His patron , Colman , and a few confidential friends , perhaps knew the contrary , but this Avas the general report previous to the representation , and under this report " Clementina" came out on the boards of Govent Garden , in the Spring of 1771 . From a patient hearing of this piece , Ave Avere enabled fully todecide on its merits , Avhich , considering it ( as was then supposed ) the
first effort of a young pen , mig ht have some promise of greater perfection , but by no means had any sublime pretensions to " . purge the passions by terror and compassion . " Mrs . Yates performed the principal character , but though she supported it with her usual talents ; and that the rest of the play was as strongly cast as the house Avould admit , it lingered out its nine ni ghts , and then Avas heard no more .
Kelly , it is said , got two hundred pounds for the copy money of this tragedy previous to the publication , on no other stipulation than that of its running nine nights . HOAV he contrived to do this it is difficult to assert , except that he privately confessed himself to the purchaser as the author ; and that the former risqued such a sum on the credit of " False Delicacy . " . _ . [ To be concluded in our ntxtf \