316 HIFFERNAN. mad or drunk who wrote i t . The publication, however, answered his purpose; for, a s h e was very heedless o f his literary reputation, o r perhaps did not always know when h e was degrading i t , he, a s usual, subscribed i t amongst his friends; and generally wherever h e went t o dine, taxed his host from half-a-crown t o a guinea (just a s h e could get i t ) f o r this pamphlet. Hugh Kelly, who had previously seen i t a t a friend's house, generously sent him a guinea for a copy, but consoled himself, a t the same time, that h e was under no obligation t o read i t . Talking o f this strange publication a t that time, gave rise t o one o f the last flashes o f poor Goldsmith:—“How does this poor devil o f a n author,” says a friend, “ contrive t o get credit even with his bookseller for paper, print, and advertising?”—“Oh! my dear Sir,” says Goldsmith, “very easily—he steals the brooms ready made.” The next year, 1775, Dr. Hiffernan appeared a s a dramatic author, b y the introduction o f a tragedy a t Drury Lane theatre, under the title o f “The Heroine o f the Cave.” —The history o f this piece i s a s follows:—After the death o f Henry Jones, the author o f the tragedy o f the Earl o f Essex, this piece was found amongst his loose papers b y the late Mr. Reddish o f Drury Lane theatre, who soon after brought i t out for his benefit. Hiffernan and Reddish living i n close habits o f intimacy, the latter, after his benefit, gave i t t o the doctor, and suggested t o him that h e might make something o f i t b y extending the plot and adding some new characters. Hiffernan undertook i t , and brought i t out the next year for the benefit o f the celebrated Miss Younge, and, b y her inimitable performance o f the heroine, i t went off with considerable applause. The doctor lived upon the profits o f this tragedy for some time; but, a s usual, never made a calculation what h e was t o d o next, till poverty pressed him t o d o something. After casting about for some time, (and occasionally damning the booksellers for their want o f taste i n not encouraging learning, and the performers o f both theatres
