She Stoops To Conquer And The Good-natured Man

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER AND THE GOOD-NATURED MAN -- INTRODUCTION. - GOLDSMITHSc oinedy of t, he Good-natured Man was first acted in-January, 1768 his other comedy, She Stoops to Conquer, in March, 1773. Goldsmith died on the 4th of April, 1774, at the age of forty-six, his first play having bee11 produced at the age of forty. The character of Croaker in the Good-fiatwed Maa was suggested by the character of Snspirins in No. 59 of Johnsons Ranzbler. Garriclr, who had let the Good-natured Man pass out of his hands, produced a play of False Delicacy, by Kelly, on the 23rd of January, 1768, himself writing for it the Prologue and Epilogue. This new play was in its sixth night, and drawing full houses at Drury Lane, when George Colman, who had just become one of the joint patentees, produced Goldsmiths comedy, on Friday, the 29th of January, at Covent Garden. On the first night tho success of the play was doubtful, until the reading of the incendiary letter by the actor who represented Mr. Croaker, which roused the house to an enthusiasm of enjoyment, after which all went merrily. Goldsmiths play was repeated cleven times, Kellys more than twenty times during the season. Faise Deiicacy is now forgotten, and the Good-natured Mm stands firm with She Stoops to Co rquela-illong the best comedies in English literatnre. Goldsmiths first comedy did, however, produce him the five hundred pounds vith which he bought and furnished chambers in the Midd e Temple, The production at Covent Garden of She Stoops to Conquer, on the 15th of March, 1773, was under con-. ditions still more trying to the author. George Colman, the manager, who had yielded slowly to the compulsion of Goldsmithtl friends, did notbelieve in the play, and infected the actors with his own distrust. One or two of them threw up tlicir parts. I t was firbt called The JIistakes of cc Night, but Joh sonR, c ynolds, Gold t-mith himself, and otliers, wore not satisfied with thc title. Sir Joshua Rrynolds wished to call it Tho Belles Sfmtngevn, b iat ll were content when Goldsinith - himself hit upon the title it now bears. There was an artificial dread in those days of incidents that could be dubbed . low. The Good-natured Man had been cried out sgainst for the scene in which Honeywood dresses the bailiffs as his gentlemen friends. Their low hl mouri, n def rencet o the critics, had to be omitted. Eielding and Goldsmith had both ridiculed this false delicacy. Stoops, indeed said Horace Walpole of She Stoops to Conquer 80 she does that is, the Muse she is draggled up to the knees, and has trudged a I believe, from Southwark Fair. But Horaoe Walpole, present at the first night, had to report next morning a prodigious success. The day of artificial dignity was drawing to its close. The story of She Stoops to Conquer is said to have been suggested to Goldsmith by a youthful blunder of his own, in believing the direction given by Mr. Cornelins Kelly, the wag of the place, when he had asked for direction to the best house in Ardagh...