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Article ANECDOTES OF THE LATE HUGH KELLY. Page 1 of 6 →
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Anecdotes Of The Late Hugh Kelly.
ANECDOTES OF THE LATE HUGH KELLY .
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HAVIN G managed this business so adroitly , our Author seemed determined to keep his name out of view in any piece he should hereafter write for the stage . When he , therefore , produced his next play , which was the comedy of " The School for Wives , " he prevailed upon his friend the late Juftice Addington to & and father , which he did in an open and avowed manner .
_ This comedy , which came out in the year 1774 , met with very considerable success , insomuch that Mr . Addington , after the ninth ni ght , finding that the real author had nothing to fear from the malice of his enemies , wrote him a letter , which appeared in the public papers of that day , recapitulating his reasons for his assumed authorship , and restoring to his friend the well-earned laurels of his labours .
This was turning the tables with some dexterity on his enemies , and it is probable they felt it . They vented their spleen a little on the veracity of Mr . A ' s conduct , but at the same time they did not consider , it was their ori ginal unfair treatment that first suggested this manoeuvre , which , though in other cases it mi ght break in upon the in-, violability of truth , in this inftance was an act of friendly defence and interposition .
" The School for Wives , " though it mi ght be supposed to be taken from a piece under this title in the French , was the unborrowed production of Kell y ' s pen . He did not understand the French language well enough to avail himself of it by a spirited translation , and , if he did , we believe had too good an opinion of his talents and his facility in writing to- try . As it is we think it a comedy of some merit , both in morals and character ; it possesses none of the deep and nice requisites of the
human mind , but it exhibits common foibles in a pleasing , dramatic manner , such as the generality of an audience are induced to understand and feel , and from such as they may be supposed to receive both pleasure a ' nd improvement . The same year he brought out an afterpiece , called " The Romance of an Hour , " wherein he likewise , for a time , concealed his name , and
might for ever , without the least injury to his reputation , it being upon the whole a very flimsy performance . . It , however , worked its way tolerably well , as b y tacking it to good first pieces , and opportune nig hts , it brought some money both to the Author and the Theatre . In 177 6 his comedy of " The Man of Reason , " came out at Covent Garden Theatre ; but , notwithstanding the success of our Author in two previous comedies , it received its final damnation on the first ni g ht ; Various causes have been assigned for this . The Author and his
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anecdotes Of The Late Hugh Kelly.
ANECDOTES OF THE LATE HUGH KELLY .
[ Concludedfrom Page no . ]
HAVIN G managed this business so adroitly , our Author seemed determined to keep his name out of view in any piece he should hereafter write for the stage . When he , therefore , produced his next play , which was the comedy of " The School for Wives , " he prevailed upon his friend the late Juftice Addington to & and father , which he did in an open and avowed manner .
_ This comedy , which came out in the year 1774 , met with very considerable success , insomuch that Mr . Addington , after the ninth ni ght , finding that the real author had nothing to fear from the malice of his enemies , wrote him a letter , which appeared in the public papers of that day , recapitulating his reasons for his assumed authorship , and restoring to his friend the well-earned laurels of his labours .
This was turning the tables with some dexterity on his enemies , and it is probable they felt it . They vented their spleen a little on the veracity of Mr . A ' s conduct , but at the same time they did not consider , it was their ori ginal unfair treatment that first suggested this manoeuvre , which , though in other cases it mi ght break in upon the in-, violability of truth , in this inftance was an act of friendly defence and interposition .
" The School for Wives , " though it mi ght be supposed to be taken from a piece under this title in the French , was the unborrowed production of Kell y ' s pen . He did not understand the French language well enough to avail himself of it by a spirited translation , and , if he did , we believe had too good an opinion of his talents and his facility in writing to- try . As it is we think it a comedy of some merit , both in morals and character ; it possesses none of the deep and nice requisites of the
human mind , but it exhibits common foibles in a pleasing , dramatic manner , such as the generality of an audience are induced to understand and feel , and from such as they may be supposed to receive both pleasure a ' nd improvement . The same year he brought out an afterpiece , called " The Romance of an Hour , " wherein he likewise , for a time , concealed his name , and
might for ever , without the least injury to his reputation , it being upon the whole a very flimsy performance . . It , however , worked its way tolerably well , as b y tacking it to good first pieces , and opportune nig hts , it brought some money both to the Author and the Theatre . In 177 6 his comedy of " The Man of Reason , " came out at Covent Garden Theatre ; but , notwithstanding the success of our Author in two previous comedies , it received its final damnation on the first ni g ht ; Various causes have been assigned for this . The Author and his