at the Theatre-Royal, Edinburgh in December, 1814. He is said to have been a 'respectable rather than a great actor', but the former epithet is inapplicable to his domestic life. He died 11 April 1816, leaving a pregnant widow and a large family of doubtful legitimacy. Mrs Siddons gave a free benefit to his family. Another baby, a daughter, arrived in the December, leaving his widow with eight surviving children. His widow's mother, Henrietta Smith, died in 1822. Writings He was the author of two poems, 'A Friend to Old England,’ 4to, 1793, and 'The Two Bills' (a political piece), 4to, 1796, and of some 'Observations made at Paris during the Peace,’ 8vo, 1803, but his reputation rests upon his dramatic pieces, some of which are not without merit. Included among them are the following: 'The Dreamer Awake' (farce), 8vo, 1791. 'Maid of Normandy' (tragedy), 8vo, 1793. 'Consequences' (comedy), 8vo, 1794. 'The Fatal Sisters' (dramatic reading), 8vo, 1797. 'The Discarded Secretary' (historical), 8vo, 1799. 'The Tears of Britain, or Funeral of Lord Nelson' (dramatic sketch), 8vo, 1805. 'Vintagers' (melodramatic reading), 8vo, 1809. 'High Life in the City' (comedy), 1810. 'The Lady of the Lake' (Sir W. Scott's poem dramatised) (melodrama), 1811. 'Look at Home,’ 1812. References External links 1767 births 1816 deaths 18th-century British dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British dramatists and playwrights 18th-century English poets English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English poets English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets 19th-century English male writers 18th-century English male writers 19th-century English male actors 18th-century English male actors