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Article ANECDOTES OF THE LATE HUGH KELLY. ← Page 5 of 6 →
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Anecdotes Of The Late Hugh Kelly.
In his person Kelly was below the middle size , fair complexion , round face , and though naturally inclined to corpulency , had a passion for dress not altogether so consistent with his figure , situation , or understanding . In conversation he was pleasing and facetious , never dogmatising or contradicting , but evidentl y disposed to conciliate the good opinion of every one around him . He had the art , too , of administering to his vanity and self-importance by various little
ways , which , though superior minds must despise , perhaps should not be altogether overlooked by men rising in the world . He did this with such dexterity , and under such an air of humility , as seldom failed of what he sought for . For , whether he meant to give the impression of a man of great business , hi gh acquaintance , or great profits in his line of authorship , the company generally caught the tone , and sounded the
very note he wished for . As a husband and father his conduct was truly exemplary ; for though he was in both duties very affectionate , he took a particular pleasure in giving exterior marks of it , as he was seldom or never seen in public places without his wife hanging on his arm , surrounded b y three or four children . He had a vanity in this no doubt , but then it was a vanity produced from a good source , it was of a very pardonable kind .
Nor was his attention and benevolence confined to his own famil y , buttook a wider spread for his friends and society . To the former his advice and interest were never deficient , and to such of the latter as wanted his assistance , he was ever ready to relieve their distresses ;' and this was so much the natural result of his own feelings , as often to exceed the _ proper bounds of his income . To poor authors he was particularlliberal
y , constantly promoting subscriptions in their favour , and as he had a numerous and respectable acquaintance , was in general verysuccessful . Hearin g one day that a man who had abused him in the newspapers was in much distress , and had a poem to publish by subscription , he si ghed , and exclaimed , " God help him—I forgive him- — but stop ( then pausing)—tell him to come and dine with me to-morrow ; and I'll endeavour to do something for him . " The man went , was received very cordially , when Kelly gave him a guinea for his own subscription , and disposed of fix copies .
To his father , who was in indigent circumstances in Dublin ( notwithstanding the largeness of his own family ) , he allowed twenty pounds per year , which he regularly remitted to him every quarter , besides occasional presents of useful things , and on his father's death continued the same kindness to his mother . It is with revived emotion that . we relate the remaining part of this anecdote . On the first account of his death his mother never spoke af . erwards . The loss of such a son
, whose fame was , no doubt , the honest pride and solace of her life , with the sad , cheerless prospect of bewailing his loss in poverty and misery ,, struck at her vital powers so powerfully , that she instantl y fell into con-, vulsions , and died at the expiration of three days . As a writer Kell y ' s genius must be allowed to be extraordinary , con ^ sidering the scanty support of his education , and under what pressure
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anecdotes Of The Late Hugh Kelly.
In his person Kelly was below the middle size , fair complexion , round face , and though naturally inclined to corpulency , had a passion for dress not altogether so consistent with his figure , situation , or understanding . In conversation he was pleasing and facetious , never dogmatising or contradicting , but evidentl y disposed to conciliate the good opinion of every one around him . He had the art , too , of administering to his vanity and self-importance by various little
ways , which , though superior minds must despise , perhaps should not be altogether overlooked by men rising in the world . He did this with such dexterity , and under such an air of humility , as seldom failed of what he sought for . For , whether he meant to give the impression of a man of great business , hi gh acquaintance , or great profits in his line of authorship , the company generally caught the tone , and sounded the
very note he wished for . As a husband and father his conduct was truly exemplary ; for though he was in both duties very affectionate , he took a particular pleasure in giving exterior marks of it , as he was seldom or never seen in public places without his wife hanging on his arm , surrounded b y three or four children . He had a vanity in this no doubt , but then it was a vanity produced from a good source , it was of a very pardonable kind .
Nor was his attention and benevolence confined to his own famil y , buttook a wider spread for his friends and society . To the former his advice and interest were never deficient , and to such of the latter as wanted his assistance , he was ever ready to relieve their distresses ;' and this was so much the natural result of his own feelings , as often to exceed the _ proper bounds of his income . To poor authors he was particularlliberal
y , constantly promoting subscriptions in their favour , and as he had a numerous and respectable acquaintance , was in general verysuccessful . Hearin g one day that a man who had abused him in the newspapers was in much distress , and had a poem to publish by subscription , he si ghed , and exclaimed , " God help him—I forgive him- — but stop ( then pausing)—tell him to come and dine with me to-morrow ; and I'll endeavour to do something for him . " The man went , was received very cordially , when Kelly gave him a guinea for his own subscription , and disposed of fix copies .
To his father , who was in indigent circumstances in Dublin ( notwithstanding the largeness of his own family ) , he allowed twenty pounds per year , which he regularly remitted to him every quarter , besides occasional presents of useful things , and on his father's death continued the same kindness to his mother . It is with revived emotion that . we relate the remaining part of this anecdote . On the first account of his death his mother never spoke af . erwards . The loss of such a son
, whose fame was , no doubt , the honest pride and solace of her life , with the sad , cheerless prospect of bewailing his loss in poverty and misery ,, struck at her vital powers so powerfully , that she instantl y fell into con-, vulsions , and died at the expiration of three days . As a writer Kell y ' s genius must be allowed to be extraordinary , con ^ sidering the scanty support of his education , and under what pressure