Star.
London, England, 1826-06-06 00:00:00

RECOLLECTIONS OF O'KEEFFE.

FROM Till NSW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

In 1784., a Rev. Doctor brought with him from Ire-
land, his native country, five tragedies and five come.
dies, all to be acted at Drury-lane and Covent-Garden;
he plagued me much to bring him to Mr. Harris, at
Knightsbridge, but before I could do so, the Doctor
himself found means to slip through Hyde Park turn-
pike. The circumstances of their interview I had from
Mr. Harris himself who humorously hit upon an effec-
tual method to get rid of himself and his ten plays.
One of his tragedies was called " Lord Rutsel," and
one of his comedies" Draw the Long Bow." Mr. Hart is
received him at his house, with his usual politeness, and
sat with great patience and much pain listening to the
Doctor reading one of his plays to him ; when he had
got to the fourth act, Mr. Harris remarked that it was
" very fine indeed--excellent; hut, Doctor, don't you
think it time for your hero to make his appearance?"-
2, Hero, Sit ! what hero ?"—" 'lout principal character,
Lord Russell.—You are in the fourth act, and Lord ,
Russell has not been on yet." 44 Lord Russell, Sir!'
exclaimed the I) ctor—" why, Sir, I have been reading
to you my comedy of " Draw the Long Bow."—" In-
deed ! I beg a thousand pardons for my dullness ; but I
thought it was your tragedy of Lord Russell' you had
gem reading to me." Tne angry author started from
his chair, thrust his manuscript'into his rocket, and ran
down stairs out of the hou e. When 1 again met the
Doctor, he gave a most terrible account of the deplo-
rable state of the English stage, when a London mana-
ger did not know a tragedy from a comedy. I laughed
heartily at Lis chagrin so .whimsically detailed to me,
and he was all astonishment and anger at my ill-timed
mirth. 'lois Rev. Gentleman (his dramatic mania ex.'
cepted) was a m in of piety and learning ; and I believe,
Mr. Harris's witty expedient effectually cured him of
psophane play writing, and changed a mad scholar into
an edyfying divine. He translated some of the books
of Milton into Greek, which were printed at Oxford.
A two-?ct piece of mine, "The Man Milliner," pro.
duced at Covent-garden Theatre, in 1768, was dismissed
by the audience as soon as the curtain rose—not a word
was heard. Every haberdasher from Hammersmith to
Bow, and from the Elephant and Castle to Highbury-
barn, tilled the house ; the men-milliners' shops all over
town were shut up at three o'clock, and the owners
wet e resolved to have their own way for once in drama-
tic choice. It was remarked, but too late, that giving
it that title was beating the drum for a certain con•
damnation. 1 was in one of the upper private b-xes
with William Lewis, who told me (Mr. Harris being
out of town) that, in cast of the slightest opposition, his
rude! s were not to repeat the piece ; and so walked out
of shop—the Man Milliner! Though this failure gave
me little concern, yet I was foiced to well close, to
retrieve lost time, and !soon finished a five-act Comedy,
" The P.ague of Riches." This I took to Mr. Colman:
he did not like it. I offered to cut it down to three
acts— to two acts. " No, no hope at all in it ; it will
do no good ; you will never bring it into any form likely
to succ:ed, Very sorry, O'Keyffe, but ti yat another
piece." 1 told him, what was true, that a five-act
comedy was a thing of too much labour to be given up
despair by its author, and that 1 would make an
effect that it should ) et succeed in s- me shape us other.
I took the MS. house with use, and, to the vexation of
the moment, putting my fingers over incidents, pages,
and whole scenes, lopped off three acts, wit:te songs in
the course of a tew days, had the whole copied fair by
my amanuensis, and sent it to Mr. Hat :is, with its new
title—" The Farmer." It was acted forty nights the
first season. All the performers were in high spirits
with their part.. Edwin's Jemmy Jump, and Mrs.
blattocks's Betty Blackberry, were the highest treat the
public had been waffled with for some time. Blanchard
sung my "Ploughboy," and Darley my song of "Etc
round the. huge Oak," with great applause. I had pre-
viously written the latter song, at Mr. Harris's request,
for Reinhold, who did Fait field, to sing it in " The
Maid of the Mill," that character having no song. M.
Arne bad then the conduct of the Covent-garden musi-
cals, and set this song, with five more, that I wrote upon
the same occasion. So I thought it now but justice to
myself to take it into my qe.a piece. Mr. Harris pur-
chased my night for one hunched pounds, and gave me
fifty pounds more for the copyright, besides which, he
allowed me to sell Daly a copy for fifty pounds.
Mr. Colman was one of the first of my friends to
wish me joy on the success of " The Farmer," but
seemed entirely to forget I had first offered it to him,'
and was vexed and disappointed when I reminded him
1 had done so as a five-act comedy, called " The Plague
of Riches." " No, no, O'Keeffe, don't talk to me in
that way. I don't know what you offered me of Riches
and Plagues; but as to Farmers, you never offered me
Mat Farmer."

A once celebrated tree, it is said, is likely to display
its fruit at Covent-garden again.