6jj 
K E L 
of lord Beeiive. This town is pleafantly fituated on the 
river Blackwater, and has four fairs. It was anciently 
called Kenanus, and afterwards Kenlis. In former ages it 
was one of the moft famous cities in the kingdom ; and 
on the arrival of the Englilh was walled and fortified with 
towers. In 1178 a caftle was erefted where the market¬ 
place now is; and oppofite to the caltle was a crofs of an 
entire (tone, ornamented with bas-relief figures and many 
curious infcriptisns in the ancient Irifh charafter. Within 
a fmall diftance was the church of St Senan; and on the 
fouth of the church-yard is a round tower which mea- 
fures ninety-nine feet from the ground, the roof ending 
in a point ; and hear the top were four windows oppofite 
to the cardinal point-s. There was a celebrated monaftery 
founded here in the year 550 for regular canons, and de¬ 
dicated to the Virgin Mary. It owed its origin to St. 
Columba, to whom the fite of the abbey was granted by 
Dermod Maccarval, or Dennod the fon of Kervail king 
of Ireland. An epilcopal fee was afterwards erected here, 
which in the thirteenth century was united to that of 
Meath. A priory or hofpital was alfo erected by Walter 
de Lacie, lord of Meath, in the reign of Richard I. for 
crofs-bearers or crouched friars following the order of St. 
Auguftm. There was likewife a perpetual chantry of 
three priefts or chaplains in the parilh-church of St. Co- 
lumba in Kells to celebrate mafs daily; one in the Rood 
chapel, another in St. Mary’s chapel, and a third in the 
chapel of St. Catharine the virgin. Kells was a borough- 
town, and till the union fent two members to the Irifh 
parliament. 
KELLS, a village in the county of Kilkenny, fixty- 
four miles from Dublin, fituated on King’s River; and 
was noted for a priory of Auguftines, built and richly 
endowed by Geotfroy Fitzroberts, who came into this 
kingdom with Strongbow. The prior of this place had 
the title of lord fpiritual, and as fuch fat in the houfe of 
peers before the reformation; the ruins only of this abbey 
now remain ; a fynod was held in it anno 1152, when 
John Paparo, legate from Rome, made one of the number 
of bifhops that were convened there at that time to fettle 
the affairs of the church.— There is another village of the 
above name, fituated in the county of Antrim and pro¬ 
vince of Ulfter, eighty-nine miles from Dublin. 
KELLS RINS, a mountainous ridge of Scotland, in the 
county of Kircudbright, a little to the fouth of New 
Galloway. 
KF.L'LY (Edward), the affociate of the learned and 
credulous John Dee in his ridiculous incantations and Ro- 
iierufian impoltures, and, molt probably, the knave of 
whom our mathematician was the dupe, was born at Wor- 
cefter in the year 1555. He was educated in grammar¬ 
learning in his native city, and other places 5 and, when he 
was about feventeen years of age, was fent to the univer- 
fity of Oxford. In what college he was placed, or hew 
long he continued there, Anthony Wood was not able to 
afeertain. He tells us, however, that Kelly, being of an 
unfettled mind, left Oxford abruptly; “and, in his ram¬ 
bles in Lancafhire, committing certain foul matters, loft 
both his ears at Lancafter.” Afterwards he became ac¬ 
quainted with Mr. Dee, to whofe article we refer for all 
the particulars which we have to relate concerning him, 
before the feparation of thofe affociates in 1589, when Dee 
returned to England from Germany. See vol. v. p. 651—3. 
For fome time after this, Kelly is faid to have lived in a 
very expenfive and oftentatious manner, fupported, doubt- 
lefs, by the contributions which he levied on the credu¬ 
lous; till at length the emperor Rodolph, provoked by 
the detection of fome of his impofitions, ordered him into 
clofe, imprifoninent. He had the addrefs, however, by 
fome means or other, to obtain an order for his releafe, 
and is reported to have made fome progrefs in conciliating 
the favour, of that prince, who feems to have bellowed on 
him the honour of knighthood ; when frelli difeoveries of 
Lis knavery occalioned his being imprifoned a fecond time. 
Iij attempting to efcapefrom the place, of his confinement 
K E L 
out of a window, with the' afiiftance of his ftieets which 
he had tied together, he fell to the ground from a confi- 
derable height, and received fuch bruifes and fractures as 
terminated in his death, in the year 1595. He was the au¬ 
thor of A Poem on Chemiftry, and another Poem on the 
Philofopher’s Stone, both inferted in Alhmole’s Thea- 
trum Chymicum Britannicum ; a treatile De I.apide Pkilo- 
fophorum, publilhed at Hamburg in 1676, in 8vo. if the 
doubts refpecting his claim to it are unfounded ; feveral 
Latin and Englilh difcourfes,printed in Cafaubon’s “True 
and faithful Relation of what palled, for many Years, 
between Dr. John Dee and fome Spirits,’’ &c. Some of 
his manuferipts are preferved in the Aihmolean Mufeum, 
at Oxford. Wood's Atken. Oxon. 
KEL'LY (Hugh), an author of confiderable repute, 
was born on the banks of Killarney lake in Ireland in 
1739. His father, a gentleman of good family, having 
reduced his fortune by a feries of unforefeen misfortunes, 
was obliged to repair to Dublin, that he might endeavouf 
to fupport himfelf by his perfonal induilry. A tolerable 
fchool-education was all he could afford to his Ion ; who 
was bound an apprentice to a ltay-maker, and ferved the 
whole of his time with diligence and fidelity. At the ex¬ 
piration of his indentures, he let out for London to pro¬ 
cure a livelihood by his bulinefs ; where he encountered 
all the difficulties a perfon poor and without friends could 
be fubjeCt to on his firft arrival in town. Happening, 
however, to become acquainted with an attorney, he was 
employed by him in copying and tranferibing ; an occu¬ 
pation which he profecuted with fo much alliduity, that 
lie is laid to have earned about three guineas a-week, an 
income which, compared to his former gains, might be 
deemed affluent. Tired, however, of this drudgery, he 
foon after, about 1762, commenced author, and was in¬ 
truded with the management of the Lady’s Mufeum, the 
Court Magazine, the Public Ledger, the Royal Chronicle, 
Owen’s Weekly Pod, and fome other periodical publica¬ 
tions, in which he wrote many original ellays and pieces 
of poetry, which extended his reputation, and procured 
the means of fublidence for himfelf, his wife to whom lie 
was then lately married, and a growing family. For fe¬ 
veral years after this period, lie continued writing upon a 
variety of fubjefts, as die accidents of the times chanced 
to call for the affidance of his pen ; and, as during this 
period politics were the chief objects of public attention, 
he employed himfelf in compofing many pamphlets on 
the important queftions then agitated, the greater part of 
which are now buried in oblivion. Among thefe, how¬ 
ever, was a Vindication of Mr. Pitt’s Adniiniltratioli, 
which lord Chederfield makes honourable mention of in 
the fecond volume of his Letters. In 1767, the. Babler 
appeared in two pocket-volumes, which had at firll been 
inferted in Owen’s Weekly Chronicle in fingle papers ; as 
did the Memoirs of a Magdalen, under the title of Lcuifa 
Mildmay. About 1767 he was tempted by the luccefs of 
Churchill’s Rofciad to write lome itriftures on the per¬ 
formers of either theatre, in two pamphlets, entitled T/iej- 
pis, both which gave great offence to lome of the principal 
perfons at each houle. The talents for Retire, which he 
difplayed in this work, recommended him to the notice 
of Mr. Garrick, who in the next year-canfed his firft play 
of Falfe Delicacy to be aided at Drury-lane. It was re* 
ceived with great applaufe; and from this time lie conti¬ 
nued to write for the ftage. with profit and fuccefs, until 
the laft period of his life. As his reputation increafed, 
.lie began to turn his thoughts to fome mode of fupporting 
his family lefs precarious than by writing, and for that 
purpofe entered himfelf a member of the Middle Temple. 
After the regular fteps had been taken, he was called to 
the bar in 3774, and his proficiency in the ftudy of the 
law afforded promifing hopes that lie might make a dif- 
tinguiflied figure in that profefiion. His fedentary courfe 
of life had, however, by this time injured his health, and 
ftibiefted him to much affliction. Early in 1777 an ab- 
feeis formed in his fide, which after a few days illnefs put 
a period 
