$00 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



difficult)' performed nine nights. At 

 length, in the beginning of the year 

 1761, three dificrent authors were 

 candidates for public favour in the 

 same walk, almost at the same time, 

 viz. Mr. Murphy, who exhibited 

 the Way to Keep Him ; Mr. Mack- 

 lin, the Married Libertine ; and 

 Mr. C')lm;in, the Jealous Wife. 

 The former and latter of these were 

 most successful, and the latter in a 

 much higher degree. Indeed, when 

 theexcellentperformauce of Messrs. 

 Garrick, Yates, G'BrieU; King, 

 Palmer, Moody, with Mrs. Pritch- 

 ard, Clive, and Miss Pritchard. are 

 recollected, it would have shewn a 

 remarkable wantof tastein the town 

 not to have followed, as they did, 

 this admirable piece with the great- 

 est eagerness and perseverance. 



The mention of the Jealous Wife 

 in Churchill's Rosciad, occasioned 

 Mr. Colman to experience some of 

 the malevolence which that and 

 other of Mr. Churchill's satires gave 

 birth to. We shall only observe, 

 that much good writing, and much 

 wit and humour, were thrown 

 away in this very acrimonious and 

 disgraceful controversy. 



We shall not regularly trace the 

 several dramatic pieces of Mr. Col- 

 man as itiey appeared, the greater 

 part being within the most of our 

 readers remembrance. In July, 

 1764, lord BaWi died, and on that 

 event Mr. Colman found himself in 

 circumstances fully sufficient to en- 

 able him to follow the bent of his 

 genius. The first publicntion which 

 he produced, alter this period, was 

 a translation of thecomedies of Te- 

 rence, in the execution of which he 

 rescued the author from the hands 

 of as tasteless and ignorant a set of 

 writers as ever disgraced the name 

 of translators. Whoever would wish 



to see the spirit of the ancient hnri}. 

 transfused into the English lan- 

 guage, must look for it in Mr. 

 Colman's version. 



The successor of lord Bath, gene- 

 ral Pulteney, died in 1/07: and Mr. 

 Colman again found himself remem- 

 bered in his will, by a second an- 

 nuity, which confirmed the inde- 

 pendency of his fortune. He seems, 

 however, to have felt no charms in 

 an idle life; as, in 170"7. he united 

 with Messrs. Harris, Rutherforth, 

 and Powell, in the purchase of Co- 

 vent-Garden theatre, and took upon 

 himself the laborious office of acting 

 manager. The differences which 

 arose from this association are too 

 recent to be forgot, and the causes 

 of them perhaps too ridiculous to 

 be recorded. It may, however, in 

 general, be obser^'ed, that the ap- 

 peals to the public, during this 

 controversy, do great credit to the 

 talents, if not the tempers, of each 

 party. As an acl of oblivion of 

 former .animosities, and a general 

 reconciliation of all parties, soon 

 afterwards took place, we shall not 

 perpetuate the nicmory of quarrels, 

 now no longer of consecjuence to 

 the public. 



After continuing manager of Co-. 

 vtnt-Garden theatre seven years, 

 Mr. Colman sold his share and in- 

 terest therein to Mr. James Leake, 

 one of his then partners, and, in 

 1777» purchased of Mr. I'oote, the 

 theatre in the Hay-market. The 

 estimation which the entertainments 

 exhibited under his direction were 

 held in by the public, the reputa- 

 tion which the theatre acquired, and 

 the continual concourse of the polite 

 world, during the height of suminer, 

 sufficiently speak the praises of Mr. 

 Colmans management. Indeed it 

 has been long admitted, that no per- 



, son, 



