, GOLDSMITH'S comedy of the 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 been produced at the age of forty. ་་་ The character of Croaker in the Good-natured Man was suggested by the character of Suspirins in No. 59 of Johnson's Rambler. Garrick, who had let the Good-natured Man pass out of his hands, produced a play of False Delicacy, by Hugh 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 Goldsmith's comedy, on Friday, the 29th of January, at Covent Garden. On the first night the 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. Goldsmith's play was repeated eleven times, Kelly's more than 2742 1 |