VOL. 56.-No. 1.] LONDON, SATURDAY, OCT. 1, 1825.
Published every Saturday Morning, at Seven o'clock.

BIG O AND SIR GLORY:

OR,

"LEISURE TO LAUGH."

[Price 6d.

my readers will have so justly
complained of; but, hence also

my deep mortification at having
thus to contemplate the disfigured
features of the first-born of my
dramatic muse. My readers and
I are, therefore, fellow-sufferers
in this untoward case. But there

THIS COMEDY, in three acts,
was, in the last Register, printed
in a very bad manner, owing to is a still greater calamity to me:
shortness of time, more than half I was compelled to leave out seve-
of it having been taken away from ral very interesting incidents,
me, page by page, by the printer's and even several characters,
boy, from a room in the shop-amongst which there was an aw-
house in noisy Fleet-street. The fully-interesting ghost; and thus,
printers were compelled to cram by passing these over, to do great
it into two sheets; and though injustice, which it is, I hope, con-

trary to my nature voluntarily to

they cried loud enough, I was
compelled to steel my heart against do. The thing, at present, is, to
their entreaties to divide the mat-retrieve the injury; and this is
ter. In addition to this was an
unevenness in the size of the paper
for the unstamped Register. Hence
the long page, the small print,
and all those awkwardnesses that

what I have, with that intention,
now done. The page is of the
usual width, but not of the usual
length, it being much longer than
will admit of binding up with the
A

Printed and Published by C. CLEMENT, No. 183, Fleet-street.
[ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.]

rest of the volume. I have, there coverture." I did think, at one

fore, now re-printed the COMEDY upon three sheets instead of two, and in a form that will make it suit for binding up with the other numbers of the volume. This has enabled me to introduce, to stick

in, those interesting incidents and characters, which typical necessity compelled me, last week, to exclude. I am told, that the rule of the stage is, that every comedy must close with a wedding. But though I am far from holding, with the renowned Doctors Black and Macculloch, that all the women of Ireland ought to remain barren for the next ten or fifteen years, I did not like to force a woman to

time, of making ANNA a widow ;
but when I reflected on the late
decision at Bow-street, with regard
to Mr. CLEMENT, how was I to
be sure that this might not pull
me up on a charge of instigation
to murder?
came to look at the thing soberly,
I could not, though ANNA does, in
her sheet, talk of men's paunches,
bring my mind to the commission
of so cruel an act as that of pub-
lishing the banns between her and
this offensive "new-dropped ball."
I might, I dare say, have, with
little trouble, found a fit help-mate
for him amongst those "ladies"
who so "cheered" him at Cork,
when, "looking up to them in the

Besides, when I

marry, especially with such "a new-dropped ball" as "Counsel-" gallery," he so modestly "conlor BRICK." I had but one female fessed," that he “ was, like Lord in my comedy, and, unfortunately" Redesdale, a stout special pleadfor me, she was a married woman; "er;" I might, I dare say, have, and when I saw that the Cork as-without much injustice, taken alsemblage were so "electrified" most any one of these, hooked her at the words "virtuous Burdett," on to him, and dispached the I feared they might make a han-loving pair into the world, there, dle of my coupling a woman with as SWIFT says,

my hero, "notwithstanding her "To starve and stink together:"

but, when I considered what is in town or country, leave to act,

due to the sex as a whole, I could not bring my heart to consent to

let

for private or public entertainment, my Comedy, in three Acts, entitled

66

Big O and Sir Glory; or, Leisure to Laugh," and for the benefit of the Sister Kingdom, I hereby not only give the same leave with respect to her, but I

my pen couple with this " newdropped ball" any thing bearing even the form of woman; and I do declare, upon my word and honour, that I should think it little short of a crime to force into his also hereby give leave, to all embraces one of those "ladies," manner of printers and publishers which the Suffolk people call in Ireland, to reprint and republish mawkses, which the Hampshire the said comedy, in any size, form, people call shoyoys, and which or manner that to them shall seem are stuck up in the pea-fields and most meet. cherry-trees to frighten off the

N. B. 2d.-Errors in the First

In page 787,

it

rooks and sparrows. Thus it is that my comedy is without a wed-Edition of the Comedy.-In page ding-a thing which I deeply re- 799, it should have been "wished gret, but for which I have none me not to sell" instead of “wished but the above apologies to offer. me to sell.". The price of the Comedy, new should have been edition, will still be that of the Docket," and not " Mr. Docket," Register, SIXPENCE; and it may to whom Anna had been opening be had at the office in Fleet-street, her heart respecting her ardent and through all the usual channels affection for Thwaites.

of the Register. Some copies, on

very fine paper, at 1s. each.

N. B. I hereby givé, to all manner of companies of players,

"Mistress

WM. COBBETT.

Kensington, 28th Sept. 1825

A 2

THE

SCOTCH QUANDARY.

Kensington 26th Sept. 1825.

vocates, the eulogists, and, to the best of their dark and deep abilities, the supporters. Before, however, I come to the quandary in which these renowned feelo

sofers are now placed, I must

FOR some days past my atten-notice, and very fully too, what tion has been drawn away from took place at the house of the Old the Scotch feeloso'ers and the Old Lady on the twenty-second instant. Lady by my pursuits in the dra-She held on that day a grand levee, matic line, which being somewhat

new to me, has had those allurements which are well known to belong to the charms of variety.

which she calls a "court;" and, having got her courtiers about her, she proposed, she told them, to make a division of her good things amongst them. Her courtiers seem

Having, now, however, pretty well "settled" the brief of Mr. Coun- to be of a rather curious descripsellor Brick, and left all my friends tion; for some of them seized this of that description in as comfort-opportunity for making an inquiry able a state as I possibly could into the sate of her affairs. They leave them, I have "leisure to

laugh," not altogether indeed so heartily as Big O must laugh, but heartily enough to satisfy a moderately minded man like me. mean to laugh at the Scotch feelosofers, upon the prospect which we now have of seeing blown

above half way to the devil that

put questions to her of a very stupid nature to be sure; and they omitted to put others, which would have been pertinent enough. However, the shortest way is, first to give the published account of the whole transaction, and then to comment upon it.

66

Yesterday a General Court system of paper-money, of which" of the Company of the Bank of England was held, for the purthey have so long been the ad-"pose of announcing a Dividend